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I  UNIVERSITY  OF 

1    CALIFORNIA 


SlfflW  o 


HISTORY 


OF  THE 


PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 


OF 


CALIFORNIA. 


BY 


JOHN    SWETT. 


I.I  BRARY 

II 

i  UN  1VKKKITY  OF 

CALIFORNIA. 


SAN    FRANCISCO: 

A.  L.  BANCROFT   AND   COMPANY. 
1876. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1876, 

BY  JOHN  SWETT, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 

//  £  JO 


A.   L.   BANCROFT   &   CO., 
PRINTERS. 


PREFACE. 


THIS  history  contains  an  outline  of  school  legislation,  school 
reports,  and  educational  conventions,  from  1850  to  1876,  and  a 
statement  of  the  leading  facts  connected  with  the  organization 
of  the  school  system  of  California. 

This  Centennial  year  seems  a  fitting  time  to  gather  up  the 
scattered  and  fragmentary  records  of  the  beginnings  of  our 
schools,  and  to  trace  the  development  of  our  system  of  public 
instruction  during  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  of  our  history 
as  a  State. 

I  have  undertaken  the  work,  because  I  felt  that  it  ought  to  be 
done,  and  no  one  else  seemed  ready  to  do  it.  I  have  endeav 
ored  to  make  it  accurate  and  impartial.  It  is  published  on  my 
own  responsibility  solely,  and  at  my  own  expense. 

Only  a  limited  number  of  copies  has  been  printed ;  it  is  not 
stereotyped,  and  the  type  is  distributed.  It  is  submitted  to 
the  pioneer  teachers  and  school  officers  of  California,  with  the 
hope  that  this  record  of  the  history  they  helped  to  make  may 
not  be  wholly  devoid  of  interest. 

J.  S. 

SAN  FBANCISCO, 

August,  1876. 


TABLE    OF  CONTENTS. 


PART   I. 

PAGE. 

1.  Foundation 

2.  School  Legislation,  1849-50 12 

3.  First  Free  School 

4.  Pioneer  Schools 13 

5.  School  Legislation,  1851 14 

Division  of  School  Moneys 15 

6.  Schools  in  San  Francisco,  1852 

7._First  State  Report— Marvin 

islation,  1852 19 

9 .  Second  Report— Marvin 20 

U,10.  Legislation,  1853 21 

Division  of  School  Moneys 22 

11.  Third  Report— Hubbs 22 

M2.  Legislation,  1854 22 

.    13.  Fourth  Report,  1854-Hubbs 23 

r*  14.  Legislation,  1855 

Secular  Schools 23 

15.  Fifth  Report,  1855— Hubbs < 24 

16.  Sixth  Report,  1856— Hubbs 24 

17.  Seventh  Report,  1857— Moulder 24 

State  University 26 

VIS.  Legislation,  1858 27 

19.  Eighth  Report,  1858-Moulder 28 

./SO.  Ninth  Report,  1859— Moulder 29 

21.  Legislation,  1860 : 29 

,     22.  Tenth  Report,  1860— Moulder 30 

**-  23.  Legislation,  1861 

Division  of  School  Moneys 31 

Speech  of  John  Conness ;":'. 32 

24.  Eleventh  Report,  1861— Moulder 35 

1^25.  Legislation,  1H62 35 

State  Normal  School , 36 

26.  Twelfth  Report,  1862— Moulder 36 

4^27.  Legislation,  18.63  36 

Teachers'.  Certificates 37 

School  Fund 37 

28.  Thirteenth  Report,  1863— Swett  38 

State  Tax 39 

U  29.  Legislation,  1864 43 

State  Tax 44 

30.  First  Biennial  Report— Swett 44 

Topics  treated  of 45 

31.  Second  Report— Swett >'. 47 

Revised  School:  Law 48 

Salaries ..    T 50 

Libraries. .  .  ,,c. ., 51 

Religious  Exercises 51 

»  Examination  of  Teachers 53 

Progress 56 


6  CONTENTS. 


J 


^ 

L 
/ 

H 
J 


32.  Legislation,  1869 58 

State  University . .  58 

33.  Third  Report— Fitzgerald : 58 

34.  Legislation,  1870 59 

California  School  Law 59 

35.  Fourth  Report — Fitzgerald 60 

Increase  of  State  Tax 60 

Leading  Topics 62 

Conclusion 63 

36.  Legislation,  1872 .' 63 

37.  Fifth  Report— Bolander 63 

Compulsory  Education 64 

38.  Legislation,  1874 65 

1.  Increase  of  State  Tax 65 

2.  Compulsory  Education 65 

Sixth  Report,  1875— Bolauder 246 

Text  Books 67 

Trained  Teachers 67 

Normal  Institutes 68 

40.  Legislation,  1876 - 69 

State  Series  of  Text  Books 69 

41.  List  of  State  Superintendents 70 

SPECIAL  HISTORY  OF  'SAN  FRANCISCO. 

1.  First  School  Reports , 71,  76 

2.  Miscellaneous  Historical  Items 77 

1.  Buildings 77 

2.  Grading 77 

N  3.  Salaries 77 

4.  Certificates 77 

5.  Annual  Elections 78 

6.  Examinations 78 

7.  Secular  Schools 7£ 

8.  Politics  aud  Schools 7£ 

9.  Music  and  Drawing 7£ 

-    10.  Changes  of  Text  Books 78 

11.  Co-education 7fr 

12.  Normal  Schools 78 

13.  Hobbies 7£ 

14.  Merits  and  Defects 7£ 

15.  Address  of  President  Davis 7£ 

16.  Veteran  Teachers 7^ 

17.  Ten  Years'  Teaching 7£ 

3.  List  of  City  Superintendents 9C 

4.  List  of  Presidents  of  Boards 9C 

5.  List  of  Principals  of  Schools 91 

6.  Statistical  Table,  Historical 94 

7.  Special  Statistics 9£ 

PART  II. 
I.   CONVENTIONS  AND  INSTITUTES. 

11.  First  Convention,  1854 9( 

2.  Second  Convention,  1856 91 

First  Institute,  1861 91 

4.  Second  Institute,  1862 & 

\  5.  Third  Institute,  1863 91 

Circular 10( 

State  Tax 105 

Text  Books 10! 

"  California  Teacher  " 10* 

State  Examinations 10; 

Results 10^ 


CONTENTS. 


6.  Fourth  Institute,  1865 1C 

7.  Fifth  and  Sixth,  1867-68 10 

8.  Seventh  and  Eighth,  1870-71 10 

9.  State  Association,  1875 10 

II.  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

1.  Industrial  Education — Carr 1C 

V2.  Duties  of  the  State  to  Public  Schools— Swett 1C 

3.  Methods  of  Teaching — Minus 15 

4.  Common  Sense  in  Teaching — Swett  . .  .rr 14 

5.  Dedication  Address — Starr  King 14 

6.  Moral  Instruction — Minns 1£ 

7.  Physical  Training— Swett rf. K 

III.  STATE  UNIVERSITY. 

1.  Foundation 1( 

2.  First  Regents 1C 

3.  First  Faculty 1G 

4.  Regents,  1876 1C 

.5.  Faculty,  1876 1C 

7.  Endowment  ..  .16 


IV.  STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

1.  Foundation 1C 

2.  Teachers 1C 

3.  Numbers  . .  17 


c 


V.  STATE  BOARDS  OF  EDUCATION. 


1.  First  Board 17 

.2.  Other  Boards  . .  .   lr. 


VI.  TEACHERS'  CERTIFICATES  AND  BOARDS  OF  EXAMINATION. 

1.  District  Trustees 1 7 

2.  First  State  Board 17 

3.  Superintendent  Swett's  Report 17 

4.  Revised  Law  lr 

5.  Swett's  Address T: 17 

6.  Set  of  Questions,  1876 18 

7.  List  of  Holders  of  Life  Diplomas 19 

8.  List  of  Holders  of  State  Educational  Diplomas 19 

9.  Prominent  Teachers 19 

10.  State  Educational  Society 20 

11.  State  Series  of  Text-Books 20 

12.  Education  of  Colored  Children 20 

13.  Course  of  Study 20i 

14.  The  California  Teacher 21< 

15.  Historical  Statistical  Tables 211" 

1 .  Expenditures 21' 

2.  School  Taxation 21( 

3.  School  Statistics ai' 

16.  Historical  List  of  County  Superintendents 21! 


CONTENTS. 


PART   III. 
PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 

PAGE. 

I.  School  Supervision - 223 

i.  State  Superintendent.. -  223 

ii.  State  Board  of  Education 223 

in.  State  Board  of  Examination 223 

iv.  County  Superintendents 224 

v.  City  Superintendents 224 

vi.  City  Boards 224 

vn.  School  Trustees 224 

viii.  County  Boards  of  Examination 224 

ix.  University  Regents , 225 

x.  Normal  School  Trustees 225 

II.  School  Kevenue 227 

i.  State  School  Fund 227 

n.  State  Tax 227 

m.  County  Tax 227 

iv.  City  Tax 227 

v.  District  Tax 227 

III.  General  Provisions 228 

1.  Schools 228 

2.  Pupils 229 

3.  Teachers 229 

4.  District  Libraries 231 

IV.  Classification  of  Schools 231 

i.  State  University 231 

n.  State  Normal  School 232 

in.  High  Schools 232 

V.  Summary  of  Statistics,  1875 - 233 

1.  Census  Children 233 

2  Classification 233 

3.  Schools  and  Teachers 233 

4.  Holders  of  Certificates 233 

5.  Salaries 233 

6.  Financial 234 

7.  Valuation 234 

VI.  School  Statistics  by  Counties,  1875 2S5 

VII.  Resume  of  the  Condition  of  the  Schools 230 

1.  Buildings ' 2H6 

2.  Length  of  School '. 2;'6 

3.  Teachers 2J;6 

4.  Instruction 2c6 

5.  Libraries 2S6 

6.  Secular  Instruction 236 

7.  Defects 237 

8.  Expenses 237 

9.  What  we  Need..                                                                     237 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

V.ALlKOiiNIA. 


THE 


PUBLIC  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


PART  I. 


i.  FOUNDATION. 

THE  foundation  of  the  public  school  system  of  California  was 
laid  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  held  in  Monterey,  Sep 
tember,  1849. 

The  Select  Committee  on  the  State  Constitution  reported, 
in  Committee  of  the  Whole,  in  favor  of  appropriating  the  five 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  granted  by  Congress  to  new 
States  for  the  purpose  of  internal  improvements,  to  constitute 
a  perpetual  School  Fund,  with  a  proviso,  however,  that  the 
Legislature  might  appropriate  the  revenue  so  derived  to  other 
purposes  if  the  exigencies  of  the  State  required  it.  An  ani 
mated  debate  occurred  on  this  proviso,  in  which  Mr.  Sherwood 
of  Sacramento,  and  Mr.  Jones  of  San  Joaquin,  were  the  prin 
cipal  speakers  in  favor  of  it;  and  Mr.  Semple  of  Sonoma,  and 
Mr.  McCarver,  opposed  to  it.  The  proviso  was  stricken  out  by 
the  close  vote  of  eighteen  ayes  to  seventeen  noes,  thus  secur 
ing  an  inviolable  fund  for  school  purposes.  In  the  progress  of 
the  debate  Mr.  Semple  spoke  as  follows : 

"  This  is  a  subject  upon  which  I  have  thought  probably  more 
than  upon  any  other  subject  that  has  ever  engrossed  my  attention. 
I  regard  it  as  a  subject  of  peculiar  importance  here  in  California, 
from  our  location  and  the  circumstances  under  which  we  are  placed, 
the  immense  value  of  our  lands,  and  the  extent  and  wealth  of  the 
country.  I  think  that  here,  above  all  places  in  the  Union,  we 
1 


SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

should  have,  and  we  possess  the  resources  to  have,  a  well-regulated 
system  of  education. 

f:  It  is  the  duty  of  members  of  this  House  to  unite  together  and 
secure  that  reputation,  character  and  ability  in  our  public  teachers 
which  can  only  be  obtained  by  a  liberal  and  permanent  fund.  It  is 
the  basis  of  a  well-regulated  school  system  that  it  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  State;  that  any  surplus  funds  collected  in  one  dis 
trict  shall  not  be  appropriated  in  that  district,  but  that  the  aggre 
gate  fund  from  all  the  districts  shall  be  appropriated  strictly  to 
school  purposes,  and  distributed  equally  throughout  the  State. 
#**##*#* 

"We  should  therefore  carefully  provide  that  this  fund  shall  be 
used  for  no  other  purpose." 

A  section  providing  that  a  school  should  be  kept  in  each  dis 
trict  at  least  three  months  in  each  year,  in  order  to  secure  any 
fehare  of  the  State  Fund,  was  adopted;  an  amendment  by  Mr. 
Hastings,  to  insert  "six "months  instead  of  "three/'  having 
been  rejected. 

SIXTEENTH   AND    THIRTY- SIXTH    SECTIONS. 

Mr.  Semple,  of  Sonoma,  whose  opinions  on  school  matters 
seem  to  have  been  remarkably  clear  and  correct,  moved,  as  a 
substitute  for  a  rejected  section  relating  to  collecting  and  dis 
bursing  the  proceeds  of  fines  for  breach  of  penal  laws,  Jiliat  all 
funds  collected  from  any  source,  including,  of  course,  \the  pro 
ceeds  from  the  sales  of  the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections 
of  township  school  lands,  be  paid  into  a  common  fund,  to  be 
apportioned  according  to  the  number  of  children. \ 

William  M.  Gwin  and  Henry  W.  Halleck,  both  of  San  Fran 
cisco,  spoke  against  the  measure;  and  Mr.  Semple  defended  it 
in  an  able  -speech.  It  was  rejected,  however,  and  the  way  was 
left  open  for  a  great  deal  of  cumbersome  legislation  in  vain 
attempts  to  form  township  school  funds.  Finally,  after  fifty 
thousand  acres  had  been  sold  by  various  townships,  the  pro 
ceeds  of  which  have  never  been  heard  of  since,  in  1861  a  law 
was  passed  consolidating  the  proceeds  into  one  common  State 
School  Fund,  as  proposed  by  Mr.  Semple  in  1849. 

THE    TEST    VOTE. 

WThen  Article  IX,  on  education,  came  up  for  final  adoption 
in  the  Convention,  there  was  a  lengthy  debate  on  the  policy  of 
concurring  with  the  action  in  Committee  of  the  W7hole  in  strik- 
iuj  out  the  proviso  in  section  second  before  mentioned.  The 


NIVEKSITY 

AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  13 

free  public  school  in  the  State.     The  ordinance  was  crude,  it  is 
true,  but  it  was  the  germ  of  all  succeeding  city  ordinances. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  ordinance: 

"  1st.  Be  it  ordained  by  the  Common  Council  of  San  Francisco,  That 
from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  J.  C. 
Pelton,  who  has  been  employed  by  the  Council  as  a  public  teacher, 
to  open  a  school  in  the  Baptist  Chapel. 

"  2d.  Said  school  shall  be  opened  from  half-past  eight  o'clock 
A.  M.  to  twelve  o'clock  M.,  and  from  two  o'clock  p.  M.  until  tive  o'clock 
p.  M.,  and  shall  continue  open  from  Monday  until  Friday  at  five 
o'clock  P.  M. 

"  3d.  The  number  of  scholars  shall  not  exceed  the  number  of  one 
hundred;  and  no  scholar  shall  be  admitted  under  the  age  of  four  or 
over  the  age  of  sixteen. 

"4th.  All  persons  desirous  of  having  their  children  instructed  in 
said  school  shall  first  obtain  an  order  from  the  Chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Education,  and  all  children  obtaining  said  order  shall  be 
instructed  in  said  school  free  of  charge. 

"  5th.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  Pelton  to  report  to  the  Council 
on  the  first  of  each  and  every  month  the  number  of  scholars  and  the 
progress  of  said  school. 

"H.  C.  MURRAY. 

"F.   TlLFORD." 

4.    THE   PIONEER   SQHOOLS. 

On  October  11,  1847,  a  committee  of  the  Town  Council 
contracted  for  the  erection  of  a  small' schoolhouse  of  one  roo*m, 
on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Plaza,  at  the  corner  of  Clay 
Street  and  Brenharn  Place. 

On  February  23,  1848,  a  small  number  of  voters  assembled 
and  elected  a  Board  of  School  Trustees,  consisting  of  Dr.  Town- 
send,  Dr.  Fourgeaud,  C.  L.  Boss,  Wm.  H.  Davis  and  J.  Serine. 
This  board  elected  Thomas  Douglass  as  teacher,  at  a  salary  of 
one  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and  the  school  opened  on  the  3d 
of  April,  1848,  with  6  pupils.  This  was  in  fact  a  fofffiofL  school 
under  public  auspices,  it  being  free  only  to  wdigeiit  pupils. 
The  Town  Council  agreed  to  make  up  any  deficiency  in  the 
salary  of  the  teacher,  to  the  extent  of  four  hundred  dollars.  The 
estimated  population  of  the  town,  April  1,  1848,  was  one 
thousand,  with  60  children  of  school  age.  In  May  the  school 
numbered  37  pupils. 

On  May  13,  1848,  a  new  election  of  Trustees  was  ordered, 
and.  after  a  spirited  contest  the  old  board  was  re-elected.  Soon 
after  gold  was  discovered,  the  school  dwindled  to  8  pupils,  and 
Schoolmaster  Douglass  closed  his  doors  and  started  for  the 
mines. 


14  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

Prior  to  the  opening  of  this  qi i as i  public  school,  Mr.  Marston, 
a  Mormon,  opened  a  private  school,  April,  1847,  and  soon  had 
20  pupils  in  attendance.  Schoolmaster  Marston  also  became  a 
miner  when  the  stampede  for  the  "diggings"  took  place. 

In  April,  1849,  Rev.  Albert  Williams  opened  a  private  school 
of  about  25  pupils,  and  continued  it  until  the  September  fol 
lowing. 

On  the  llth  of  October,  1849,  John  C.  Pelton  and  wife  arrived 
from  Boston,  with  school  furniture,  books,  etc.,  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  a  school  on  the  New  England  plan.  He  opened 
school  December,  1849,  with  three  pupils.  This  school  \vas  to 
be  supported  by  voluntary  contributions,  but  was  free  to  indi 
gent  children.  This  school  was  made  a  free  public  school  soon 
after. 

The  school  so  established  soon  numbered  150  pupils,  and  in 
addition  to  Mr.  Pelton  and  his  wife,  two  assistants  had  to  be 
employed.  At  one  time  the  school  numbered  300  pupils.  The 
salary  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pelton  was  $500  a  month. 

This  school  was  continued  until  September  25,  1851,  when  it 
was  suspended  by  the  adoption  of  a  new  school  ordinance, 
under  which  T.  J.  Nevins  became  Superintendent,  new  teachers 
were  elected,  and  Mr.  Pelton  temporarily  retired  from  school. 

5.  SCHOOL   LEGISLATION,  ,1850-1851. 

The  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Education,  Mr 
Heydenfelt,  early  in  the  second  session  of  the  Legislature,  at 
San  Jose,'  1850-51,  reported  a  bill  "Concerning  common 
schools,"  which  dragged  slowly  along,  was  indefinitely  post 
poned  in  the  Assembly,  submitted  to  a  Committee  of  Conference, 
and  finally  passed  on  the  very  last  day  of  the  session,  May  1, 
1851. 

The  original  bill  was  mainly  drawn  by  Hon.  George  B. 
Tingley,  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  John  G.  Marvin,  Super 
intendent  of  Public  Instruction,  and  John  C.  Pelton,  teacher  of 
the  public  school  in  Sari  Francisco,  under  a  local  school  ordi 
nance,  assisted  in  preparing  and  perfecting  the  bill,  and  in 
securing  its  passage.  David  C.  Broderick,  then  a  member  of 
the  Legislature,  was  an  active  supporter  of  the  bill. 

THE    FIRST    SCHOOL    LAW. 

The  school  law  of  1851  was  cumbersome  and  imperfect  in  many 
of  its  provisions.  It  provided  for  the  survey  and  sale  of  school 


AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  11 

opinion  prevailed  in  the  Convention  that  tins  grant  would  be  of 
immense  value;  that  the  lands  would  be  located  in  mineral 
regions,  and  sold  for  fabulous  sums;  that  the  fund  derived  would 
be  the  most  munificent  in  the  world;  and  the  argument  was 
used  in  favor  of  the  proviso,  that  the  fund  would  be  more  thanj 
sufficient  to  educate  the  children,  and  would  prove  a  source  of 
corruption  and  speculation.  Hence  the  question  was  made  an 
important  one,  which  brought  out  the  full  strength  of  the  friends 
of  free  schools. 

"W.  M.  Stewart  and  Messrs.  Sherwood  and  Vermeule,  spoke 
in  favor  of  retaining  the  proviso,  and  Messrs.  Gwin,  Halleck, 
Botts,  Hoppe,  Semple,  and  McDougal,  in  favor  of  striking  it  out. 

After  various  amendments  offered  and  rejected,  the  proviso 
was  stricken  out  by  the  following  vote: 

AYES. — Messrs.  Aram,  Botts,  Brown,  Covarrubias,  Gwin, 
Hanks,  Hill,  Hoppe,  Halleck,  Hastings,  Hollingsworth,  Larkin, 
Lippitt,  Lippincott,  McCarver,  McDougal,  Ord,  Price,  Eeid, 
Sutter,  Stearns,  Sansevaine,  Tefft,  Vermeule,  Walker,  and  Pres 
ident  Semple — 26. 

NOES. — Messrs.  Dimmick,  Dominguez,  Foster,  Gilbert,  Hob- 
son,  Norton,  Pico,  Sherwood  and  Wozencraft — 10. 

And  so  ivas  laid  the  foundation  of  oar  School  Fund  and  School 
System. 

CONSTITUTIONAL    PROVISIONS. 

Article  IX  of  the  Constitution,  as  adopted,  was  as  follows: 

"  ARTICLE  IX. — Education. 

"  SECTION  1.    The  Legislature  shall  provide  for  the  election  by 
the  people  of  a  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  who  shall, 
hold  his  office  for  three  years,  and  whose  duties  shall  be  prescribed 
by  law,  and  who  shall  receive  such  compensation  as  the  Legisla 
ture  may  direct.* 

"  SEC.  2.  The  Legislature  shall  encourage  by  all  suitable  means 
the  promotion  of  intellectual,  scientific,  moral  and  agricultural  im 
provement.  The  proceeds  of  all  land  that  may  be  granted  by  the 
United  States  to  this  State  for  the  support  of  schools  which  ma}*  be 
sold  or  disposed  of,  and  the  five  hundred  thousand  acres  of^land 
granted  to  the 'new  States,  under  an  act  of  Congress  distributing 
the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands  among  the  several  States  of  the 
Union,  approved  A.  D.  1841,  such  per  cent,  as  may  be  granted  by 
Congress  on  the  sale  of  lands  in  this  State  shall  be  and  remain  a 

*  Amended  in  1862  so  as  to  provide  for  the  election  of  State  Superintendent  at  / 
the  Special^  Judicial  Election,  for  a  term  of  four  years. 


12  SCHOOL   LEGISLATION 

perpetual  fund,  the  interest  of  which,  together  with  all  the  rents  of 
the  unsold  lands,  and  such  other  means  as  the  Legislature  may 
provide,  shall  be  inviolably  appropriated  to  the  support  of  common 
schools  throughout  the  State. 

"  SEC.  3.  The  Legislature  shall  provide  for  a  system  of  common 
schools,  by  which  a  school  shall  be  kept  up  and  supported  in  each 
district  at  least  three  months  in  every  year;  and  any  district  neg 
lecting  to  keep  and  support  such  a  school,  may  be  deprived  of  its 
proportion  of  the  interest  of  the  public  fund  during  such  neglect. 

"  SEC.  4.  The  Legislature  shall  take  measures  for  the  protection, 
improvement,  or  other  disposition  of  such  lands  as  have  been  or  may 
hereafter  be  reserved  or  granted  by  the  United  States,  or  any  person 
or  persons,  to  the  State,  for  the  use  of  a  universit}7;  and  the  funds 
accruing  from  the  rents  or  sale  of  such  lands,  or  from  any  other 
source,  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  shall  be  and  remain  a  permanent 
fund,  the  interest  of  which  shall  be  applied  to  the  support  of  said 
university,  with  such  branches  as  the  public  convenience  may  de 
mand,  for  the  promotion  of  literature,  the  arts  and  sciences,  as  may 
be  authorized  by  the  terms  of  such  grant.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  Legislature,  as  soon  as  may  be,  to  provide  effectual  means  for 
the  improvement  and  permanent  security  of  the  funds  of  said  uni 
versity/' 

2.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1849-50. 

Near  the  close  of  the  first  session  of  the  Legislature,  1849-50, 
held  in  the  city  of  San  Jose,  Mr.  Corey,  from  the  Committee  on 
Education,  reported  that  the  taxes  laid  on  the  people  for  State, 
county,  and  municipal  purposes,  were  so  heavy  the  committee  did 
not  consider  it  advisable  to  report  a  bill  to  tax  the  people  still 
further  for  the  support  of  public  schools,  and,  accordingly,  the 
school  bill,  of  which  no  record  remains,  was  indefinitely  post 
poned.  But  while  the  school  bill,  thus  defeated,  has  been  -for 
gotten,  the  reason  advanced  by  Mr.  Corey  has  been  the  stand 
ing  argument  urged  against  every  school  bill  which  has  con- 
•tained  any  provision  for  maintaining  by  taxation  a  system  of 
public  schools. 

3.  THE  FIRST  FREE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL. 

A  solid  foundation  for  a  school  system  was  laid  by  the  framers 
of  the  State  Constitution,  but  San  Francisco  was  the  first  place 
in  the  State  to  organize,  independent  of  State  law,  by  her  Com 
mon  Council,  a,  free  public  school. 

The  Ayuntamiento,  or  City  Council,  adopted,  April  8,  1850, 
the  following  ordinance,  drawn  by  H.  C.  Murray,  which  was  the 
first  public  school  ordinance  of  any  kind  passed  in  California,  and 
consequently  made  the  school  taught  by  Mr.  Pel  ton  the  first 


\ 


AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  15 

lands  in  so  impracticable  a  manner  that  no  lands  were  ever  sold 
under  its  operation.  The  Governor  was  to  order  a  survey;  the 
surveyor  was  to  lay  off  the  land  in  lots  not  exceeding  eighty 
acres,  nor  less  than  forty,  and  to  furnish  the  State  Superintend 
ent  with  a  schedule  of  the  same;  the  lands  were  to  be  sold  at 
auction,  on  an  order  from  the  Court  of  Sessions — the  purchaser 
to  pay  one  third  down,  and  ten  per  cent,  per  annum  interest  on 
the  remainder;  the  County  Treasurer  to  give  a  certificate  of 
payment,  and  report  to  the  State  Superintendent;  the  State 
Superintendent  to  direct  the  District  Attorney  to  make  out  a 
deed;  the  County  Recorder  to  report  annually  to  the  State 
Superintendent. 

It  provided  for  the  apportionment  of  the  interest  of  the  State 
School  Fund  to  the  counties,  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of 
children  between  seven  and  eighteen  years  of  age;  but  the 
County  Treasurers  were  to  apportion  to  districts  according  to 
the  number  actually  attending  school;  no  district  was  to  receive 
its  share  of  State  money  unless  school  was  maintained  three 
months,  and  unless  it  raised  a  sum  equal  to  at  least  one  half  its 
share  of  the  State  Fund.  It  denned  the  duties  of  the  Superin-  / 
tendent  of  Public  Instruction;  provided  for  a  "Superintending  I 
School  Committee  "  of  three,  elected  annually,  with  power  to 
examine  and  appoint  teachers,  disburse  the  School  Fund,  build 
schoolhouses,  and  report  annually  to  the  State  Superintendent. 
It  divided  schools  into  primary,  intermediate  and  grammar, 
specifying  the  studies  in  each,  and  provided  for  the  establish 
ment  of  high  schools. 

DIVISION    OF    THE    SCHOOL    MONEYS. 

It  also  provided  for  the  distribution  of  the  School  Fund 
among  religious  and  sectarian  schools,  in  the  following  sections: 

"  SEC.  10.  If  a  school  be  formed  by  the  enterprise  of  a  religious 
society,  in  which  all  the  educational  branches  of  the  district  schools  / 
shall  be  taught,  and  which,  from  its  private  and  public  examination, 
the  committee  will  it  to  be  well  conducted,  such  school  shall  be 
allowed  a  compensation  from  the  Public  School  Fund  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  its  pupils,  in  the  same  manner  as  provided  for 
district  schools  by  this  act. 

"  SEC.  11.  Schools  established  under  charitable  auspices,  orphan 
asylums,  schools  for  blind,  almshouse  schools,  etc.,  such  as  shall  be 
subject  to  the  general  supervision  of  laws  on  education,  but  under 
the  immediate  management  of  their  respective  trustees,  managers, 
or  directors;  and  said  schools  shall  participate  in  the  apportionment 
of  the  school  moneys  in  the  same  manner  as  other  common  schools." 


16  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

6.  SCHOOLS  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO,  1851-52. 

The  first  school  ordinance  passed  under  the  State  school  law 
I  of  1851  was  that  of  San  Francisco,  adopted  in  September,  1851, 
which  made  provision  for  a  City  Board  of  Education,  composed 
of  seven  members,  and  for  a  City  Superintendent,  and  appro 
priated  $35,000  for  tlie  support  of  schools.  Thomas  J.  Nevins, 
who  mainly  prepared  the  ordinance,  was  elected  Superintendent 
of  Schools,  and  proceeded  to  organize  the  department.  The 
first  schools  organized  under  this  ordinance  were  the  Happy 
Valley  School,  of  which  Mr.  James  Denman  was  elected  the  first 
teacher,  and  the  Powell  Street  School,  of  which  Mr.  Joel  Tracy 
was  appointed  teacher. 

Both  schools  opened  on  the  17th  of  December,  1851. 

The  Washington  Grammar  School  opened  December  22,  Mr. 
F.  E.  Jones,  Principal. 

During  1852  the  following  new  schools  were  organized:  Rin- 
con  School,  January  28,  Silas  Weston,  Principal;  Spring  Valley 
Grammar,  February  9,  Asa  W.  Cole,  Principal;  Union  Gram 
mar,  June,  Ahira  Holmes,  Principal;  Mission  Grammar,  May, 
Alfred  Rix,  Principal. 

The  average  daily  attendance  in  all  the  schools  for  1852  was 
445;  in  1853,  703  pupils. 

Among  the  teachers  elected  in  1853  were  Ellis  H.  Holmes, 
Principal  of  the  Washington  School,  March  1;  John  Swett, 
Principal  Rincon  School,  December  4;  Joseph  C.  Morrill, 
Principal  Spring- Valley  School,  October  1. 

The  salary  of  Principals  of  Grammar  Schools  in  1853  was 
$1500  a  year. 

7.  FIRST  STATE  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1851. 

John  G.  Marvin,  the  first  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc 
tion,  made  his  first  annual  report  to  the  third  Legislature  on  the 
5th  of  January,  1852.  He  recommended  that  a  carefully  pre 
pared  school  law  should  be  passed,  as  that  of  the  previous  year 
was  meagre  in  its  provisions;  that  an  appropriation  of  $50,000 
should  be  immediately  made,  and  that  next  year  a  State  scliuol 
tax  of  five  cents  on  a  hundred  dollars  should  be  levied  until 
some  revenue  could  be  derived  from  the  State  School  Fund;  that 
the  office  of  County  Superintendent  be  created;  that  provision 


AND  SCHOOL  BEPORTS.  17 

be  made  for  school  libraries;  and  that  the  proceeds  of  the 'sales 
of  tule  lands  be  applied  to  the  School  Fund.  He  estimated  the 
total  amount  of  State  school  land,  including  the  16th  and  36th 
sections,  and  the  500,000  acre  grant,  to  be  6,380,320  acres,  which 
would  yield  a  prospective  School  Fund  of  $7,975,400,  and  says 
of  this  estimate:  "This  would  be  truly  a  magnificent  bequest, 
and  one  worthy  of  the  El  Dorado  State." 

In  an  appendix  to  his  report,  Mr.  Marvin  gave  extracts  from 
letters  of  inquiry  addressed  by  him  to  various  county  officers 
and  to  postmasters.  A  few  extracts  from  these  will  show  the 
educational  condition  of  the  State  at  that  tirne^kButte  County 
had  50  children,  but  no  school;  Calaveras  County,  100  children, 
and  no  school;  Colusa,  75  children,  with  some  prospect  of  a 
school  next  year;  El  Dorado  County,  100  children,  but  no 
school;  Contra  Costa  County  had  some  400  children.  Postmas 
ter  Coffin,  of  Martinez,  wrote:  "There  are  nearly  150  here. 
There  is  but  just  the  breath  of  life  existing  in  the  apology  for  a 
school  in  the  town.  I  presume  it  will  be  defunct  ere  one  month 
passes  away."  Marin  County  had  60  children,  and  a  mission 
school  at  San  Kafael;  Mariposa  County,  100  children,  "no 
school  organized;"  Mendocino  County,  70  children,  and  a  school 
,-  of  20  pupils  on  Eussian  River:  Monterey  County,  500  children 
1  — two  schools  of  40  pupils  each  in  the  city — 179  at  San  Juan, 
and  no  school;  "  morality  and  society  in  a  desperate  condition ;" 
Napa  County  had  100  children,  and  three  schools  in  the  county, 
one  of  which  was  at  Napa  City,  and  numbered  25  scholars;  Ne 
vada  County  had  250,  and  four  schools,  two  of  which  were  at 
Nevada  City,  one  at  Grass  Valley,  and  one  at  Rough  and  Ready ; 
Placer  County  had  100  children,  and  one  small  school  at  Auburn; 
San  Joaquin  County  had  250  children,  and  two  schools,  both 
at  Stockton.  Mr.  Rogers,  the  teacher  of  a  private  school  at 
Sacramento,  reported  that  there  were  400  children  in  that  county, 
and  no  schools  except  two  primary  and  one  academy,  a  high- 
school  in  the  city  of  Sacramento,  all  private.  He  says:  "This 
city  has  never  spent  a  cent  for  elementary  instruction.  My 
sympathies  are  with  the  public  free  schools,  but  in  their  ab 
sence,  I  started  a  private  school." 

Santa  Cruz  County  had  200  children,  and  two  schools,  both 
in  the  town,  numbering  65  scholars. 

Santa  Clara,  County  had  300  children.     The  Young  Ladies' 
Seminary,  at  San  Jose,  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  had 


18  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

90  pupils;  and  the  San  Jose  Academy,  Keverend  E.  Bannister, 
Principal,  had  60  pupils.  Through  the  exertions  of  Hon. 
George  B.  Tingley,  a  subscription  of  $5000  was  raised  for  the 
benefit  of  this  academy.  There  were  two  primary  schools  at 
Santa  Clara,  with  64  scholars,  and  two  other  schools  in  the  town 
ship,  numbering  35  scholars. 

Santa  Barbara  County  had  400  children,  and  one  public  school 
in  the  town,  under  supervision  of  the  Common  Council,  who 
paid  the  two  teachers  together  seventy  dollars  per  month.  There 
was  also  a  small  school  at  Santa  Inez. 

SAN   FKAN CISCO     SCHOOLS. 

Concerning  San  Francisco,  it  is  reported:  "In  May  last,  the"; 
Common  Council,  under  authority  of  the  charter,  authorized 
the  raising  of  $35,000  as  a  School  Fund  for  the  present  year. 
In  September,  1851,  the  same  body  passed  the  present  excel 
lent  school  ordinance,  and  appointed  Aldermen  Koss,  Atwell, 
John  Wilson  and  Henry  E.  Lincoln,  to  form  the  Board  of  Edu 
cation.  These  gentlemen  chose  T.  J.  Kevins  Superintendent." 

Three  public  schools  were  organized  at  that  time — Happy 
Valley  School,  No.  1,  163  scholars,  James  Denman,  Principal; 
District  No.  2,  Dupont  Street  School,  150  pupils,  Mr.  Jones, 
Principal;  Powell  Street  School,  No.  3,  60  pupils,  Joel  Tracy, 
Principal. 

Among  the  private  schools,  the  principal  were  as  follows: 
San  Francisco  Academy,  Kev.  F.  E.  Prevaux,  31  pupils;  Epis 
copal  Parish  School  of  Grace  Church,  40  scholars,  Dr.  Ver 
Mehr;  Wesleyan  Chapel  Select  School,  3:i  scholars,  Mr. 
Osborne,  Instructor;  St.  Patrick's  School,  150  children,  Father 
McGinnis,  Principal;  Church  of  St.  Francis  School,  150  pupils, 
Father  Langlois,  Principal. 

Sonoma  County  had  5  small  schools,  and  250  children;  Solano 
County  200  children  and  one  school,  at  Benicia,  half  public  and 
half  private;  Trinity  County  125  children,  and  one  school  of 
50  pupils,  at  Uuiontown;  Tuolumne  County  150  children,  and 
no  school;  Yolo  County  75  children,  and  no  school;  Yuba 
County  had  150  children,  and  one  school  hi  Marysville,  of  30 
scholars,  taught  by  Tyler  Thatcher  and  his  wife. 

From  these  rough  materials  Mr.  Marvin  estimated  the  num 
ber  of  children  in  the  State  between  4  and  18  years  of  age  to 
be  about  6000.  There  was  then  no  organized  State  school  sys- 


AND   SCHOOL  KEPORTS.  10 

tern,  and  most  of  the  schools  mentioned  in  the  preceding  items 
were  private  schools  supported  by  tuition. 

8.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1852. 

At  the  third  session  of  the  Legislature,  held  in  Vallejo  and 
Sacramento,  1852,  Hon.  Frank  Soule,  Chairman  of  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Education,  made  an  able  report  in  favor  of  com 
mon  schools,  and  introduced  a  revised  school  law  much  more 
complete  than  the  law  of  1851. 

Hon.  Paul  K.  Habbs,  of  the  Senate,  afterwards  Superintend 
ent  of  Public  Instruction,  State  Superintendent  Marvin  and 
Mr.  Pelton,  assisted  Mr.  Soul4  in  framing  the  bill. 

A  select  committee  of  the  Assembly  on  the  Senate  bill  (Mr. 
Boggs,  Chairman)  reported  strongly  against  many  features  of 
the  bill;  thought  that  parents  could  take  care  of  their  own 
children;  that  the  State  and  the  counties  were  in  debt;  that  taxa 
tion  ought  not  to  be  increased— the  standing  argument  of  Mr. 
Corey — and  therefore  recommended  that  the  bill  be  postponed 
one  year,  and  yet  had  the  unblushing  impudence  to  wind  up 
their  report  by  "declaring  themselves  faithful  friends  of  com 
mon  schools  and  loyal  lovers  of  children!"  Finally  a  commit 
tee  of  conference  was  appointed,  on  which  appear  the  names  of 
J.  M.  Estell,  Henry  A.  Crabb  and  A.  0.  Peachy,  who  reported 
in  favor  of  the  bill  with  the  sections  relating  to  the  sale  of 
school  lands  stricken  out,  to  be  amended  and  passed  as  a  sepa 
rate  bill.  It  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Soule  and  others  who  as 
sisted  in  framing  the  bill,  that  the  500,000  acres  of  school  lands 
should  be  located  by  the  State  Board  of  Education,  and  held 
until  the  land  should  sell  for  a  reasonable  price. 

But  there  was  a  big  land  speculation  in  the  eyes  of  some 
members  of  the  Legislature;  and  so  the  policy  prevailed  of  dis 
posing  of  these  lands  at  $2.25  per  acre,  payable  in  depreciated 
State  script.  The  total  amount  finally  realized  from  this  mag 
nificent  land  grant  was  only  about  $600,000.  It  might  have 
been  made  two  or  three  millions. 

FIRST    STATE    SCHOOL    TAX. 

The  bill  rcas  .passad,  and  a  provision  was  inserted- in  the  rev 
enue"  law  levying  a  State  school  lax  of  five,  cents  on  each  one  hnn- 
•Jredjj^^  This  school  Ia\v 

made  provision  for  a  State  Board  of  Education,  consisting  of 


20  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

the  Governor,  Surveyor-General  and  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction;  made  County  Assessors  ex-qfficlo  County  Superin 
tendents;  three  School  Commissioners  in  each  district,  elected 
for  one  year;  constables  to  be  School  Census  Marshals;  the 
school  year  to  end  October  31;  State  School  Fund  to  be  ap 
portioned  to  districts  according  to  the  number  of  census  chil 
dren  between  five  and  eighteen  years  of  age;  State  School  Fund 
to  be  used  exclusively  for  teachers'  salaries,  and  fifty  per  cen^/ 
of  County  Fund  for  the  same  purpose;  that  no  books  of  a  de 
nominational  or  sectarian  character  should  be  used  in  any  com 
mon  schools;  defined  the  duties  of  County  Superintendents, 
and  of  the  State  Superintendent  and  School  Commissioners; 
authorized  the  Common  Council  in  incorporated  towns  to  raise 
a  school  tax  not  to  exceed  three  cents  on  a  hundred  dollars;  to 
provide  for  examination  of  teachers;  to  make  rules  and  regula 
tions  for  government  of  schools;  authorized  counties  to  levy  a 
school  tax  not  exceeding  three  cents  on  a  hundred  dollars;  pro 
vided  that  no  school  should  receive  any  apportionment  of  public 
money,  unless  free  from  all  denominational  and  sectarian  bias,  con 
trol  or  influence  ivhatever;  and  closed  by  giving  permission  to 
teachers  to  assemble  at  Sacramento,  once  a  year,  on  the  call 
of  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  to  discuss  and 
recommend  improvements  in  teaching.  Approved  May  3,  1S§2. 

L 

9.   SECOND  STATE  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1852. 

In  his  second  annual  report,  Mr.  Marvin  stated  that  the  num 
ber  of  children  between  four  and  eighteen  years  of  age  was 
17,821;  that  by  a  blunder  of  the  Enrolling  Clerk,  the  section 
creating  the  office  of  County  Superintendent  was  omitted,  and 
the  duties  were  specified  without  creating  the  oifice,  and  in 
consequence  thereof  the  State  Board  of  Education  had  not 
been  able  to  apportion  the  State  Fund,  which  at  that  time 
amounted  to  $18,289,  of  which  $14,874  was  received  from  the 
five  cent  revenue  tax;  that  the  sales  of  school  lands  had 
amounted  to  150,000  acres,  yielding  $300,000,  on  interest  at  the 
rate  of  seven  per  cent,  per  annum.  He  recommended  that  the 
County  Assessors  be  made  ex-cfficio  County  Superintendents; 
that  Trustees  be  required  to  report  to  the  State  Superintendent 
as  well  as  to  County  Superintendents;  that  the  Catholic  schools 
be  allowed  their  mo  rata  of  the  public  fund;  that  no  necessity  ex- 


i  BRAKY 

i;  K  1  V  K  U  S  i  T  V    ( 

AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  21  { 

isted  for  a  normal  school,  as  the  supply  of4£ac^ers  was  greater 
than  the  demand;  that  the  number  of  organized  public  schools  ! 
was  20,  the  number  of  children  attending  public  school  3314,    < 
and  the  total  expenditure  as  reported,  $28,000. 

The  report  embraced  twelve  mission  and  church  schools  in 
various  parts  of  the  State,  including  579  children  in  attendance. 

10.    SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1853. 
SALE    OF    SCHOOL    LANDS. 

The  law  regulating  the  sale  of  500,000  acres  of  school  lands, 
passed  May  3,  1852,  authorized  the  Governor  to  issue  land 
warrants  of  not  less  than  1GO  acres,  nor  more  than  320  acres; 
the  State  Treasurer  was  authorized  to  sell  said  lands  at  two  dollars 
^per  acre,  and  to  receive  in  payment  Controller's  warrants  drawn 
'  upon  the  General  Fund,  or  the  bonds  of  the  civil  debt  of  the 
State;  and  to  convert  all  moneys  and  all  State  three  per  cent, 
bonds  or  Controller's  warrants  so  received  by  him  into  bonds 
of  the  civil  funded  debt  of  the  State,  bearing  interest  at  seven 
per  cent,  per  annum,  and  to  keep  such  bonds  as  a  special 
deposit,  marked  "  School  Fund,"  to  the  credit  of  said  School 
Fund. 

Under  this  provision  the  sales  of  land  in  1852  amounted  to 
150,000  acres,  yielding  $300,000. 

AMENDMENTS. 

At  the  fourth  session  of  the  Legislature,  1853,  the  school  law 
was  amended  by  the  following  provisions:  That  Controller's 
warrants,  received  for  school  lands,  should  draw  interest  at 
seven  per  cent.,  the  same  rate  as  civil  bonds;  that  the  State 
Treasurer  should  keep  a  separate  and  distinct  account  of  the 
Common  School  Fund,  and  of  the  interest  and  income  thereof, 
and  that  no  portion  should  be  devoted  to  any  other  purpose; 
that  County  Assessors  should  be  made  ex-qfficio  County  Super 
intendents;  that  all  county  school  officers  should  be  paid  such 
compensation  as  allowed  by  County  Supervisors;  that  cities 
!  should  have  power  to  raise  by  tax  whatever  amount  of  money 
was  necessary  for  school  purposes;  that  counties  should  have 
power  to  levy  a  school  tax  not  exceeding  five  cents  on  a  hundred  : 
dollars;  that  religious  and  sectarian  schools  should  receive  a 
\pro  rata  share  of  the  School  Fund. 


22  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

The  provision  allowing  the  Catholic  schools  a  share  of  the 
School  Fund  was  as  follows : 

"SEC.  7.  Article  five  of  said  act  (1852)  is  hereby  amended  by 
adding-  after  section  two  the  following  additional  sections: 

"  '  Section  Three.  The  County  Superintendent  may  and  is  hereby 
empowered,  in  incorporated  cities,  to  appoint  three  School  Commis 
sioners  for  any  common  school  or  district,  upon  petition  of  the 
inhabitants  thereof  requesting  the  same. 

"  '  Section  Four.  Such  schools  shall  be  and  are  hereby  entitled 
to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  any  other  city  or  common  school, 
in  the  pro  rata  division  of  school  money  raised  by  taxation,  and  shall 
receive  its  proportion  of  money  from  the  State  School  Fund  in  the 
annual  distribution;  provided,  they  are  conducted  in  accordance  with 
the  requirements  of  this  act."; 

This  provision  gave  rise  to  the  formation  of  the  so-called 
"  ward  schools"  of  San  Francisco. 

ii.   THIRD  ANNUAL  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1853. 

Paul  K.  Hubbs,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  last  previous 
Legislature,  was  elected  as  successor  to  John  G.  Marvin,  and 
took  office  on  the  first  of  January,  1S54.  In  his  very  brief 
annual  report,  January  24,  1854,  he  stated  that  the  School  Fund, 
from  the  sale  of  school  lands,  amounted  to  $463,000,  on  which 
the  annual  interest  was  $32,000;  that  the  sale  of  school  lands 
had  entirely  ceased,  andT  that  there  remained  unsold  2G8,000 
acres  of  the  500,000  acre  grant.  He  dwelt  on  the  necessity  of 
reserving  all  sales  of  the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  for 
township  funds  exclusively.  Mr.  Hubbs  further  recommended 
that  the  School  Fund  be  apportioned  according  to  the  average 
attendance  on  school,  instead  of  the  number  of  census  children, 
and  urged  the  establishment  of  a  State  university. 

No  tabular  statistics  whatever  were  published  with  this  report. 

12.    SCHOOL    LEGISLATION,  1854. 

In  the  fifth  session  of  the  Legislature,  1854,  it  was  provided 
in  the  Revenue  Act  that  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  State  poll  taxes 
should  be  paid  into  the  School  Fund.  A  well-prepared  school 
law  was  introduced  by  Hon.  D.  E.  Ashley,  which,  among  other 
things,  repealed  the  sections  allowing  sectarian  schools  a  pro  rata 
share  of  the  School  Fund.  It  met  with  strong  opposition, 
finally  passed  to  engrossment,  but  was  buried  in  the  rubbish  of 
unfinished  business  at  the  end  of  the  session. 


AND   SCHOOL   BEPOKTS.  23 

13.    FOURTH  ANNUAL  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1854. 

Superintendent  Hubbs  opened  his  second  report  with  tLe 
statement,  "that,  though  the  average  attendance  on  school  had 
increased  from  2000  in  1853  to  5751  in  1854,  the  report  never 
theless  exhibited  the  lamentable  fact  that  the  children  of  our 
State  are  growing  up  devoid  of  learning  to  read  and  write."  He 
recommended  the  establishment  of  a  State  Industrial  School; 
that  School  Commissioners  be  elected  for  three  years,  one 
annually;  that  the  office  of  County  Superintendent  be  abolished, 
as  tending  to  unnecessary  expense;  that  Township  Treasurers 
be  elected,  to  report  to  the  State  Superintendent;  argued  in 
favor  of  Township  School  Funds;  stated  that  no  income  had 
ever  been  derived  from  "escheated  estates,"  though  it  had  been 
estimated  that  millions  belonged  of  right  to  that  fund;  and  urged 
a  State  university.  A  crude  and  confused  tabular  statement 
was  attached  to  this  report. 

14.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1855. 

During  the  sixth  session  of  the  Legislature,  1855,  Hon.  D.  R. 
Ashley  introduced  a  school  bill  which  was  in  substance  the 
same  as  that  defeated  at  the  last  previous  session.  After  some 
opposition,  with  a  few  amendments  it  became  a  law,  approved 
May  3,  1855. 

This  revised  law  enlarged  the  pOAvers  of  School  Trustees;  pro-  / 
vided  for  the  election  of  County  Superintendents,  and  defined 
their  duties;  and  empowered  the  Common  Councils  of  incor 
porated  cities  to  raise  a  school  tax  not  exceeding  twenty-five 
cents  on  a  hundred  dollars;  to  collect  and  disburse  school 
moneys;  to  establish  school  districts;  to  provide  by  election  or 
by  appointment  for  City  Boards  of  Education,  and  City  Super 
intendents;  to  establish  schools  on  petition  of  fifty  heads  of  f 
families,  provided  that  no  sectarian  doctrines  should,  be  taught 
therein,  and  that  such  schools  be  under  the  same  supervision  as 
other  schools. 

SECULAR    SCHOOLS. 

It  provided  that  no  school  should  be  entitled  to  any  share  of 
the  public  fund  that  had  not  been  taught  by  teachers  duly  ex 
amined  and  approved  by  legal  authority,  and  that  no  sectarian 
books  should  be  used,  and  no  sectarian  doctrines  should  be 


24  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

taught  in  any  public  school  under  penalty  of  forfeiting  the  pub 
lic  funds.  The  stringent  provision  settled  then,  and  probably 
forever,  the  question  of  an  American  system  of  public  schools 
in  this  State,  free  from  the  bitterness  of  sectarian  strife  and  the 
intolerance  of  religious  bigotry.  The  public  schools  are  free  to 
the  children  of  the  people,  and  free  from  the  influence  of  church 
or  sect. 

This  law  of  1855  also  provided  that  Controller's  warrants  paid 
into  the  Treasury  for  school  lands  should  draw  the  same  rate  of 
interest  as  civil  bonds,  and  that  the  State  Treasurer  should  in 
dorse  on  such  warrants,  "Common  School  Fund,"  and  that  no 
portion  of  such  securities  should  be  sold  or  exchanged,  except 
by  special  act  of  the  Legislature;  it  authorized  counties  to  raise 
a  school  tax  not  exceeding  ten  cents  on  a  hundred  dollars,  to 
apportion  the  same  on  the  same  basis  as  the  State  Fund,  and  to 
appropriate  the  moneys  so  derived  for  building  houses,  pur 
chasing  libraries,  or  for  salaries.  This  law  contained  many  ex 
cellent  provisions,  and  was  a  very  great  advance  on  all  previous 
school  bills.  Its  main  features  are  retained  in  the  school  law  of 
the  present  day. 

15.  FIFTH  ANNUAL  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1856. 

Superintendent  Hubbs  renewed  his  recommendations  for  the 
sale  of  school  lands,  and  put  in  a  special  plea  for  Township 
Funds;  recommended  that  all  school  lands  and  School  Funds 
be  placed  under  the  control  of  the  State  Board  of  Education; 
asked  a  direct  appropriation  of  $100,000;  considered  the  new 
school  law  behind  the  age;  recommended  that  the  office  of  County 
Superintendent  be  abolished,  and  that  the  district  township 
system  be  adopted;  that  the  School  Fund  be  apportioned  ac 
cording  to  the  average  daily  attendance. 

This  report  was  accompanied  by  inaccurate  statistical  tables. 

16.  SIXTH  ANNUAL  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1856. 

The  last  report  of  Superintendent  Hubbs  was  a  brief  one, 
without  any  statistical  table  whatever — not  even  the  number*of 
census  children  in  the  State. 

He  urged  all  his  previous  recommendations  concerning  school 
lands,  and  township  lands  in  particular,  the  establishment 
of  a  grand  university,  with  an  agricultural  department,  and 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  25 

a  military  school;  a  legislative  requirement  that  a  uniform  series 
of  elementary  boo/cs  be  used  in  all  the  public  schools;  entered  his 
protest  against  certain  "  partisan  and  sectional  "  text-books  sent 
him  from  the  East;  and  closed  by  a  eulogy  on  the  English  lan 
guage  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 


17.  SEVENTEENTH  ANNUAL  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1857. 

Paul  K.  Hubbs  was  succeeded  in  office,  in  1857,  by  Andrew 
J.  Moulder. 

Mr.  Moulder's  first  report  opened  as  follows : 

The  number  of  schools  has  increased,  in  four  years,  from  53  to 
367 — nearly  sevenfold;  the  number  of  teachers,  from  50  to  486 — 
nearly  ninefold;  the  number  of  children  reported  by  census,  from 
11,242  to  35,722 — more  than  threefold;  whilst  the  semi-annual  con 
tribution,  by  the  State  has  dwindled  from  $53,511.11  to  $28,342.16, 
or  nearly  one  half;  and  the  average  paid  each  teacher,  from  $955  to 
$58.32 — that  is  to  say,  to  less  than  one  sixteenth  of  the  average 
under  the  first  apportionment. 

I  will  not  waste  words  on  such  an  exhibit.  If  it  be  not  con 
vincing  that  the  support  derived  from  the  State  is  altogether  in 
sufficient,  and  ought  to  be  augmented,  no  appeal  of  mine  could  en 
force  it. 

But  this  I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  that  we  have  no  such  thing 
as  public  schools,  in  the  full  acceptation  of  the  term — that  is  to  say, 
schools  at  which  all  the  children  of  the  State  may  be  educated,  free 
of  expense.  That  $9.72  per  month,  to  each  teacher,  contributed  by 
the  State,  never  can  maintain  a  public  school;  that  the  contribu 
tions  by  parents  and  guardians  to  keep  up  the  schools  are  onerous, 
oftentimes  unequal,  and  must,  in  time,  damp  their  ardor  in  the  cause 
of  education;  that  our  367  schools  are  comparatively  in  their  infancy, 
and  now,  above  all  other  times,  should  b'e  cherished  and  encouraged 
by  the  State.  Lacking  such  fostering  care  and  encouragement,  it  is  to 
be  feared  they  will  languish,  and  gradually  lose  their  hold  upon  the 
popular  favor.  Is  it  not  worth  more  than  an  ordinary  effort  to  avert 
such  a  calamity  ? 

He  recommended  that  the  maximum  rate  of  county  school 
tax  be  increased  from  ten  cents  to  twenty  cents  on  a  hundred 
dollars;  that  no  warrants  should  be  issued  by  Trustees  on  the 
District  Funds,  unless  there  was  cash  in  the  Treasury  to  pay 
them;  and  that  all  funds  coming  into  the  Treasury  during  one 
school  year  should  be  used  exclusively  for  the  payment  of  ex 
penses  of  that  year;  asked  an  appropriation  of  $3000  for  Teach 
ers'  Institutes;  favored  the  establishment  of  a  State  Industrial 
School;  recommended  that  all  school  lands  be  placed  under  the 
2 


26    •  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

j  o'f  the  State  Board  of  Education,  with  power 
to  locate  and  sell  at  "one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre; 
that  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  16th  and  36th  sections  of 
township  lands  be  consolidated  into  one  general  school  fund, 
and  that  a  State  Military  Institute  be  established. 

The  following  extract  will  illustrate  his  views  on  a  State 
University : 

Ours  is  eminently  a  practical  age.  We  want  no  pale  and  sickly 
scholars,  profound  in  their  knowledge  of  the  dead  or  other  lan 
guages  and  customs.  We  need  energetic  citizens,  skilled  in  the 
arts  of  the  living,  and  capable  of  instructing  their  less  favored  fel 
lows  in  the  pursuits  that  contribute  to  the  material  prosperity  of 
our  State.  For  what  useful  occupation  are  the  graduates  of  most 
of  our  old  colleges  fit?  and  not  of  ours  alone,  but  of  the  time- 
honored  universities  of  England.  Many  of  them  are  bright  schol 
ars,  ornaments  to  their  alma  mater — they  are  perhaps  all  that  the 
system  under  which  they  have  been  instructed  could  make  them ; 
they  are  learned  in  the  antiquities  of  nations  long  since  gone ;  they 
are  eloquent  in  Latin  ;  they  may  write  a  dissertation  on  the  Greek 
particle;  be  masters  of  the  rules  of  logic  and  the  dogmas  of  ethics 
— all  valuable  acquirements,  it  is  true;  but  when,  after  years  of 
toil,  they  have  received  their  diploma,  their  education  for  practical 
life  has  just  commenced.  They  have  still  to  study  for  a  profession 
— are  still  dependent  upon  their  parents. 

This  may  do  for  old  settled  communities,  but  it  will  never 
answer  for  California.  A  young  man  at  seventeen,  eighteen,  or 
twenty  years  of  age,  in  this  State,  must  expect  to  start  in  life  for 
himself.  He  must  have  some  occupation  that  will  maintain  him. 
Longer  dependence  is  not  to  be  tolerated  or  expected. 

To  fit  our  youth  for  such  occupations,  to  end  this  dependence, 
must  be  the  object  of  our  university. 

I  would,  therefore,  urge  that  such  professorships  only  shall  be 
established  at  first  as  will  turn  out  practical  and  scientific  civil 
engineers;  mining  engineers;  survej^ors;  metallurgists;  smelters; 
assayers;  geologists,  or  scientific  prospectors;  chemists,  both  manu 
facturing  and  agricultural;  architects;  builders;  and  last,  but  not 
least,  school  teachers. 

Let  me  call  your  attention,  however,  to  the  necessity  of  edu 
cating  a  class  of  our  young  men  iu  mining  engineering. 

The  character  of  mining  has  undergone  great  changes  since 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty-nine  and  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty. 
Enterprises  are  now  conducted  on  an  extensive  scale.  Tunnels  of 
greai*  magnitude,  with  labyrinthine  galleries,  are  run  into  the 
mountains;  deep  shafts,  with  far-stretching  drifts,  are  sunk;  quartz 
\vorks  and  mills  are  multiplying.  In  all  these  enterprises  a  skillful 
engineer  would  be  a  valuable  acquisition;  and,  as  they  progress  in 
magnitude,  his  services  would  become  indispensable.  It  is  from 
the  want  of  such  directing  intelligence  that  we  so  often  hear  of 
accidents  in  the  mines.  Our  State  has  scarcely  started  in  the  work 
of  internal  improvements.  None  offers  more  inducements — in 


LIBRARY 

t'NIVKHSITV  OF 

AND  SCHOOL  EEPOETS.  27 

<''AUFOK\r\ 

none  will  more  be  needed.  For  these  we  s%ll  require  civil  engi 
neers  and  surveyors,  and  all  such  will,  in  a  few  years,  find  employ 
ment. 

The  statistical  tables  accompanying  the  report  were  very 
brief,  embracing  only  the  number  of  census  children  and  the 
average  daily  attendance. 


18.   SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1858. 

The  Legislatures  of  1856  and  1857  did  not  trouble  them 
selves  about  the  school  law,  and  no  amendments  worth  men 
tioning  were  made. 

The  Legislature  of  1858  made  an  advance  in  school  legisla 
tion  by  providing  that  school  districts,  by  a  vote  of  the  people, 
could  levy  a  district  tax  for  the  support  of  schools  or  for  build 
ing  schoolhouses,  under  the  restrictions  that  the  district  must 
have  maintained  a  school  four  months;  that  the  public  money 
must  be  insufficient  to  defray  one  half  the  expense  of  another 
term;  that  a  tax  for  supporting  a  school  and  for  building  a 
schoolhouse  could  not  both  be  levied  the  same  year,  and  that 
the  trustees  considered  the  tax  advisable.  This  law  was  not 
well  drawn,  and  great  difficulty  was  experienced  in  collecting 
the  taxes  voted  under  it,  the  heavy  taxpayers  who  chose  to 
resist  it  generally  escaping  without  payment.  As  a  necessary 
result,  comparatively  few  taxes  were  voted  under  it,  and  not 
till  1863  was  a  liberal  and  effective  law  passed  whose  provisions 
were  as  binding  as  those  regulating  the  collection  of  State  or 
county  taxes. 

The  Legislature  of  1856  passed  a  concurrent  resolution  in 
structing  their  representatives  in  Congress  to  use  their  influence 
to  secure  the  surveys  of  the  16th  and  36th  sections  of  township 
school  lands,  and  also  to  secure  a  law  authorizing  townships 
in  the  mineral  districts  to  locate  two  sections  in  lieu  thereof  on 
the  agricultural  lands  of  the  State. 

The  Legislature  of  1858  passed  a  similar  concurrent  resolu 
tion. 

A  law  was  passed  providing  for  the  sale  of  the  remainder  of 
the  500,000  acre  grant,  and  the  72  sections  for  a  State  univer 
sity,  which  provided  that  the  Governor  should  appoint  a  land 
locating  agent  in  each  land  district  of  the  State,  who  should 
locate  in  tracts  not  exceeding  320  acres;  that  purchasers  should 


28  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

pay  $1.25  per  acre,  or,  if  they  preferred,  twenty  per  cent,  down, 
and  interest  on  the  remainder  at  ten  per  cent,  per  annum,  in 
advance;  that  said  agents  should  also  locate  lands  in  lieu  oi 
occupied  16th  and  36th  sections,  at  the  request  of  the  County 
Supervisors;  that  the  State  Board  of  Examiners,  whenever  il 
should  appear  that  more  than  $10,000  had  been  received  by  the 
State  Treasurer  as  purchase-money  for  such  lands,  should  pur 
chase  bonds  of  the  civil  funded  debt  of  the  State,  after  adver 
tising,  at  their  lowest  values;  that  such  bonds  should  be  marked 
''School  Fund,"  and  held  in  custody  of  the  State  Treasurer 
that  at  the  expiration  of  one  year  the  State  Board  of  Examiners 
should  take  and  use  $57,600  of  any  money  belonging  to  the 
School  Fund  and  purchase  bonds,  which  should  be  marked 
"  Seminary  Fund,"  and  that  all  interest  on  said  fund  should  alsc 
be  invested  in  bonds. 

An  act  was  also  passed  repealing  that  of  1855,  and  providing 
for  the  sale  of  the  16th  and  36th  sections  of  township  lands  b} 
the  Boards  of  Supervisors. 


19.  EIGHTH  ANNUAL  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1858. 

This  was  one  of  the  longest  and  ablest  of  Mr.  Moulder's  re 
ports.  He  opened  with  the  statement  that  the  schools  of  Cali 
fornia  were  not  creditable  to  the  State,  and  showed  the  neces 
sity  of  an  immediate  appropriation  by  the  State  of  $100,000 
Concerning  this,  he  goes  on  to  say: 

A  classification  and  analysis  of  the  reports  of,  full  2000  schoo 
officers  to  this  department  show  that  there  are  40,530  children  ir 
the  State  between  4  and  18  years  of  age;  that  the  whole  numbe] 
attending  school  during  the  year  1858  was  19,822,  and  that  the  dairj 
average  attendance  was  but  11,183.  It  follows  that  20,708  childrei 
have  not  been  inside  of  a  public  schoolhouse,  and  that  29,347  have 
in  effect,  received  no  instruction  during  the  year. 

If  this  state  of  things  is  "very  good  for  California/3  and  we  dc 
not  take  instant  and  effective  means  to  remedy  it,  these  29,341 
neglected  children  will  grow  up  into  29,347  benighted  men  anc 
women;  a  number  nearly  sufficient,  at  ordinary  times,  to  contro 
the  vote  of  the  State,  and,  in  consequence,  to  shape  its  legislatioi 
and  its  destiny ! 

Damning  as  the  record  is,  it  is  yet  lamentably  true,  that  during 
the  last  five  years  the  State  of  California  has  paid  $754,193.80  fo] 
the  support  of  criminals,  and  but  $284,183.69  for  the  education  o: 
the  young! 

In  other  words,  she  has  paid  nearly  three  times  as  much  for  th< 


I   UNIVERSITY 


OF 

RW^X 

AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  29 


support  of  an  average  of  four  hundred  criminals  as  for  the  training 
and  culture  of  thirty  thousand  children. 

To  make  the  point  more  forcible,  the  figures  show  that  she  has 
expended  $1,885  on  every  criminal,  and  $9  on  every  child! 

He  recommended  that  districts  should  be  required  to  main 
tain  a  school  six  months,  instead  of  three,  to  entitle  them  to 
apportionment;  that  the  authority  of  examining  teachers  should 
be  transferred  from  Trustees  to  a  County  Board;  that  the  maxi 
mum  county  tax  should  be  raised  to  twenty  cents  on  a  hundred 
dollars;  that  County  Treasurers  should  not  be  allowed  a  per 
centage  for  disbursing  State  school  moneys;  that  County  Super 
intendents,  Marshals,  and  Trustees,  should  be  paid  Out  of  the 
County  General  Fund  ;  and  that  Negroes,  Mongolians,  and  In- 
dians,  should  not  be  allowed  to  attend  the  schools  for  white 
children,  under  penalty  of  the  forfeiture  of  the  public  school 
money  by  districts  admitting  such  children  into  school. 

He  reported  that  he  had  prepared  a  volume  of  "Commenta 
ries  on  the  School  Law,"  containing  suggestions  on  school  archi 
tecture  and  extracts  from  the  best  authors  on  education.  He 
argued  at  length  the  policy  of  consolidating  the  proceeds  of  the 
sales  of  the  16th  and  36th  sections  into  a  State  Fund. 

This  report  closed  by  urging  a  Military  Institute,  and  attached 
to  the  tabular  statements,  which  were  better  arranged  than  those 
of  any  preceding  report,  were  the  reports  of  County  Superin 
tendents. 

20.  NINTH  ANNUAL  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1859. 

In  this  report  Mr.  Moulder  renewed  several  of  the  recom 
mendations  of  his  previous  report;  recommended  the  establish 
ment  of  a  State  Normal  School  ;  the  organization  of  State  and 
County  Boards  for  examining  teachers;  the  increase  of  the  maxi 
mum  county  school  tax  to  twenty-five  cents  on  a  hundred  dol 
lars;  an  appropriation  for  paying  the  expenses  of  State  Insti 
tutes  ;  an  appropriation  for  traveling  expenses  to  enable  the 
State  Superintendent  to  deliver  lectures  and  visit  schools 
throughout  the  State;  that  the  Township  School  Funds  should 
be  consolidated  into  one  common  fund,  which  question  he  ar 
gued  conclusively,  supporting  his  position  by  letters  from  Land 
Commissioners  at  Washington,  and  from  various  State  Super 
intendents,  and  concluded  by  an  elaborate  argument  in  favor  of 
a  Military  Institute  to  be  established  at  Monterey. 


30  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 


21.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1860. 

Several  important  amendments  were  made  to  the  school  law 
by  the  Legislature  of  1860.  The  maximum  rate  of  county  school 
tax  was  raised  from  ten  cents  to  twenty-five  cents  on  a  hundred 
dollars;  the  State  Superintendent  was  authorized  to  hold  a  State 
Teachers'  Institute  annually,  and  an  appropriation  of  $3000  was 
made  for  payment  of  expenses ;  the  State  Superintendent  was 
authorized  to  appoint  a  State  Board  of  Examination,  with  power 
to  grant  State  teachers'  certificates,  valid  for  two  years,  and  the 
School  Funds  of  any  one  year  were  required  to  be  used  exclu 
sively  for  that  year ;  County  Superintendents  were  authorized 
to  appoint  County  Boards  of  Examination,  consisting  exclu 
sively  of  teachers,  with  power  to  grant  teachers'  certificates, 
valid  for  one  year ;  the  State  Board  of  Education  was  author 
ized  to  adopt  a  State  series  of  text-books,  and  to  compel  their 
adoption,  under  penalty  of  forfeiting  the  public  school  moneys, 
to  go  into  effect  in  November,  1861;  and  an  appropriation  oi 
$30,000  made  for  building  a  State  Beform  School  at  Marysville. 


22.  TENTH  ANNUAL  SCHOOL  REPORT,  1860. 

This  report  opened  as  follows: 

It  is  apparent,  from  an  inspection  of  these  statistics,  that  the 
amount  contributed  by  the  State  to  the  cause  of  education  is  wretch 
edly  insufficient.  It  is  a  pittance  almost  beneath  contempt.  II 
amounts  to  about  one  dollar  and  forty  cents  per  annum  for  the 
education  of  each  schoolable  child  in  the  State. 

With  all  the  aid  derived  from  local  taxes,  rate  bills,  and  private 
subscription,  it  pays  only  an  average  of  sixty-six  dollars  and  seventy- 
two  cents  per  month  to  each  teacher  in  the  State. 

A  first-class  bootblack  obtains  almost  as  much. 

I  am  almost  disposed  to  believe  that  no  teacher  at  all  is  bettei 
than  an  ignorant  or  unlettered  one;  but  how  can  we  expect  tc 
secure  the  services  of  highly  educated  and  accomplished  teachers 
for  the  pittance  of  sixty-six  dollars  and  seventy-two  cents  pei 
month  ? 

He  further  urged  a  State  Normal  School,  and  a  direct  State 
appropriation  for  common  schools;  again  argued  in  favor  o: 
consolidating  Township  Funds,  and  closed  by  stating  that  he 
had  already  exhausted  argument  in  favor  of  a  Military  Institute 


AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS .  31 


23.   SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1861. 

Early  in  the  session  of  1861,  Hon.  John  Conness  introduced 
a  bill  in  the  House,  which  was  passed,  providing  for  the  sale 
of  the  sixteenth  and  thirty-sixth  sections  of  school  lands,  and 
that  the  proceeds  should  be  paid  into  the  State  School  Fund. 
Thus,  after  many  years  of  impracticable  legislation,  in  which 
each  successive  Legislature  tinkered  on  a  township  land  bill,  a 
plain  and  practicable  law  was  passed,  under  the  provisions  of 
which,  in  less  than  a  year,  nearly  200,000  acres  were  sold,  and 
the  proceeds  applied  to  the  State  School  Fund. 

DIVISION   OF    THE    SCHOOL   MONEYS. 

During  this  session  Mr.  Montgomery  introduced  a  bill  pro 
viding — 

That  every  school  numbering  thirty  pupils,  established  by  the 
parents  or  guardians  of  such  pupils,  should  have  the  right  on  ap 
plication  to  be  enrolled  as  a  public  school ;  that  the  common  school 
branches  should  be  taught  five  hours  a  day,  with  religious  instruc 
tions  and  catechism  as  an  extra,  at  the  will  of  the  parents;  that  the 
parents  or  guardians  should  elect  the  trustees  of  such  school,  with 
full  powers  to  control;  and  that  the  State  Fund  should  be  appor 
tioned  according  to  the  number  of  children  attending  school. 

This  bill  was  accompanied  by  a  petition  extensively  signed; 
and,  at  one  time,  there  was  some  danger  of  its  passage.  Hon. 
John  Conness  defended  secular  public  schools,  and  the  follow 
ing  extracts  from  his  speech  are  worthy  of  a  place  in  school 
history : 

A  quarter  of  a  century  ago  I  landed  from  the  deck  of  an  emigrant 
ship,  upon  the  shores  of  America.  I  was  deposited  there  as  a  single 
grain  of  sand  upon  the  sea  shore  by  a  wave  of  the  ocean.  Soon 
after  my  arrival  I  found  my  way  to  a  free  school,  where  I  soon 
learned  that  my  anticipations  and  fears  were  not  realized.  I  found 
there,  in  lieu  of  intercourse  with  strangers,  the  greatest  friendship 
that  I  have  ever  yet  experienced  at  the  hands  of  mankind.  I  was 
received  into  an  institution  established  by  the  intelligence,  the 
wisdom,  the  patriotism,  and  at  the  expense  of  a  great  and  free 
people.  I  soon  learned  to  appreciate  the  advantages  that  were 
placed  before  me.  During  the  short  period  of  seven  months,  being 
the  interim  between  my  arrival  and  my  being  placed,  from  the 
necessities  that  surrounded  me,  as  an  apprentice  to  a  mechanic's 
trade,  I  enjoyed  the  opportunities  for  the  acquirement  of  information 
and  knowledge  that  was  furnished  by  that  common  free  school. 
Day  by  day,  for  I  never  missed  a  single  da}',  nor  fractional  part  of 
a  day  in  my  attendance,  I  experienced  at  the  hands  of  the  teachers 


32  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

appointed  over  me  by  the  people,  the  most  marked  consideration 
and  kindness.  The  very  fact  that  I  was  a  stranger  seemed  but  to 
invite  the  attention  and  even  the  caresses  of  the  noble  man  who 
stood  at  the  head  of  that  school.  More  than  once — and  I  shall 
remember  it  to  the  last  hour  of  my  existence — I  was  desired  to 
remain  after  the  other  children  were  dismissed  from  the  school,  to 
be  spoken  to,  to  be  encouraged,  to  be  led  onward  in  the  paths  of 
education  by  my  teacher.  More  than  once  he  has  placed  his  hand 
kindly  upon  my  head,  and  familiarly,  because  not  in  the  presence 
of  other  children,  addressed  me,  saying,  '  John,  you  must  make 
effort  in  this  and  in  that  particular  direction — you  are  wanting  in 
these  particular  parts — if  you  will  only  bring  yourself  up  in  these, 
you  will  occupy  a  foremost  position  in  this  school.'  He  marked  my 
attempts  at  progress,  and  to  me  as  well  as  to  others  he  always 
reached  out  the  encouraging  hand  of  kindness,  and  spoke  the  word 
that  led  to  emulation  and  ambition  in  the  acquirement  of  knowledge. 
For  me  to  have  found  an  institution  like  that  was  a  great  acquisition 
and  a  great  wonder.  I  could  scarcely  understand  it  then,  although 
I  believe  I  fully  appreciated  it,  as  I  do  to-day.  Up  to  the  period  of 
my  advent  into  that  school  I  had  not  been  favored  with  great  or 
any  considerable  advantages  in  the  way  of  education.  I  had  never 
attended  other  than  the  village  schoolhouse,  where  the  commonest 
branches  of  education  were  taught,  perhaps  in  the  commonest  way; 
and  for  the  two  years  preceding  my  arrival  I  had  been  deprived  of 
even  these  poor  advantages  by  circumstances  that  I  will  not  under 
take  to  detail  here.  And  to  have  found  not  only  the  means  so 
abundant  placed  before  me,  but  agents  so  kind  and  at  the  same  time 
so  able  in  administering  the  benefits  and  advantages  of  that  institu 
tion,  sustained  and  supported  at  the  public  expense,  commanded 
then,  as  I  repeat  will  always  command,  my  profoundest  admiration 
and  regard.  To  that  school,  and  to  the  beneficent  people  who 
established  it,  am  I  indebted,  in  great  part,  to  say  the  least,  for  all 
that  I  am,  be  it  little  or  much,  to-day.  Hence,  sir,  when  the  ques- ' 
tion  of  public  schools — of  free  schools — in  which  the  children  of  all 
may  be  educated  without  price,  without  distinction  of  class,  of 
wealth,  or  of  politics  or  religious  opinions,  is  involved,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  I  should  feel  a  deep  interest  in  that  question.  Next  to 
the  unity  and  the  continued  and  happy  prosperity  of  this  glorious 
country  that  we  live  in  and  are  all  common  citizens  of — next  to  its 
continued  and  prosperous  existence,  I  owe  all  allegiance,  all  love, 
all  admiration,  and  all  effort,  to  the  public  schools  of  our  country. 
****** 

I  am  aware  that  those  who  advocate  this  measure  profess  that 
they  have  no  purpose  in  view  but  the  perfection,  completeness  and 
extension  of  educational  conditions  and  advantages;  but  I  would 
recommend  those  persons  to  begin  in  another  way.  I  object  to  the 
manner  in  which  they  propose  to  begin  to  carry  out  such  an  end. 
Some  of  them  say  that  the  schools  of  California,  or  those  of  a  por 
tion  of  the  State,  are  dens  of  infamy,  are  pestiferous  in  their 
character,  are  but  sowing  the  seeds  of  immorality  and  death  where 
they  exist.  But,  as  a  remedy  for  these  great  abuses,  for  this  great 
curse  in  our  land,  if  it  exists,  do  they  propose  to  rene,w  their  efforts 


AND   SCHOOL   EEPOETS.  33 

to  obtain  the  passage  of  such  laws  or  enforce  such  restrictions  as 
will  bring  about  a  better  condition  of  things  ?  I  think  not.  What, 
then,  do  they  propose?  If  I  understand  them,  and  I  think  I  do, 
they  propose  to  withdraw  a  portion  of  the  children  of  the  State  from 
what  are  now  known  as  the  common  schools  of  the  State.  The 
proposition  or  purpose  in  view  is  better  stated  to  me  outside  of  this 
hall  by  citizens  of  distinction,  who  are  interested  in  passing  this  act 
which  we  are  now  discussing,  than  by  the  gentlemen  who  have 
discussed  it  here.  Their  proposition  to  me  is  plainly  stated — so 
plainly  that  he  who  runs  may  read  and  understand  it.  They  say1, 
first,  that  the  schools  are  now  unfit  for  the  reception  of  their  children, 
or  the  children  of  their  people.  They  say  they  are  common  contrib 
utors  to  the  funds  that  are  consumed  in  the  support  of  the  schools, 
and  that  as  the  schools  are  unfit  for  their  children,  therefore  they 
have  a  right  to  withdraw  their  children  from  those  schools.  That? 
part  of  the  proposition  I  admit,  but  I  deny  that  it  follows  as  a| 
necessity,  in  common  honesty  and  fairness,  that  they  should  also  be  ' 
entitled  to  receive  a  pro  rata  proportion  of  the  common  school 
moneys  of  the  State,  to  be  used  under  their  direction  for  the  support 
of  such  schools  as  they  may  establish.  They  say  that  this  right/ 
exists  in  nature.  Who,  they  ask,  is  so  well  entitled  to  the  care, 
custody  and  training  of  a  child  as  its  natural  parent  ?  They  invoke 
the  social  faculties  of  mankind  to  aid  them  in  this  argument,  because 
they  draw  a  contrast  between  the  system  they  propose  and  the  one 
that  now  exists,  by  showing  you  that  on  the  one  hand  the  govern 
ment  of  the  State  claims  the  control  and  jurisdiction  of  the  children 
of  the  State,  for  the  purpose  of  public  education,  while  on  the  other 
hand  they  assert  that  no  such  relation  should  be  permitted  or 
authorized  while  the  parent  lives  who  gave  existence  to  his  offspring, 
and  whose  greatest  care  is  for  his  advancement  and  happiness. 


We  are  here  with  common  objects,  and  the  only  question  that 
is  presented  in  connection  with  this  bill  now  before  us  is  plainly 
this:  Shall  we  continue,  by  and  through  the  agency  of  the  State 
to  support  and  carry  out  a  system  of  public  education  in  the  State, 
or  shall  we  not?  For  one,  I  am  in  favor  of  the  affirmative  of  this 
proposition;  I  am  in  favor  of  renewing  effort;  of  bringing  up  the 
standard  of  education,  and  the  moral  condition  of  our  schools, 
until  they  shall  not  only  be  fit  for  the  reception  of  the  children  of 
our  people,  but  shall  also  by  their  superior  excellence  attract  to  our 
State  parents  and  children  from  other  lands.  Adopt  the  proposi 
tion  that  is  made  in  this  bill;  let  every  private  school  that  may  be 
established  by  the  parents  of  children  or  by  their  religions  teachers, 
or  for  profit  by  teachers,  have  a  pro  rata  share  of  the  school  money, 
and  what  will  be  the  result  ?  In  a  very  short  time  the  State  of  Cal 
ifornia  will  be  engaged  in  the  interesting  business  of  collecting 
moneys  from  various  sources  for  the  purpose  of  education,  and  dis 
bursing  and  distributing  those  moneys  amongst  private  parties,  to 
be  by  them  applied  in  such  a  way  as  they  see  fit  for  the  purposes 
of  education.  Inaugurate  this  system,  drive  home  this  wedge  that 
is  now  pointed  at  your  common  school  system,  and  you  will  have 


34  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

schools  exclusively  under  the  control  and  direction  of   sects  and 
parties,  as  well  as  by  persons  engaged  as  educators  for  profit. 
*  *  *  *  *  * 

I  have  heard  nothing  to  convince  me  that  this  bill  should  pass, 
and  that  our  system  of  education  should  be  changed.  I  have  heard 
no  argument  within  this  chamber,  because  I  do  not  recognize  as 
argument  on  that  point  all  that  is  said  about  the  condition  of  the 
schools  as  they  now  exist.  Our  public  school  system  in  the  United 
States  of  America  is  one  of  the  proudest  evidences  of  the  greatness 
of  our  people,  as  it  furnishes  the  basis  and  substratum  of  our  insti 
tutions.  Let  religionists,  of  whatever  class  or  kind,  teach  their 
doctrines  and  dogmas.  They  have  their  organizations  for  that 
especial  purpose,  and  they  contribute  their  means,  and  judiciously 
and  carefully  apply  them  to  these  ends.  liris  our  business,  by  law 
and  constitutional  sanction,  to  preserve  each  in  its  own  particular 
career,  without  interference  from  its  neighboring  organization.  It 
is  that  preservation  and  defense  against  assault  upon  any,  by  either, 
that  has  marked  our  land  and  made  it  what  it  proudly  is — the 
asylum  of  freedom  in  the  world.  No  greater  means  of  its  continu 
ance,  no  surer  or  more  certain  mode  for  its  preservation  can  be 
found,  I  assert,  than  in  the  preservation  of  our  common  school 
system.  While  we  denominate  our  schools  public  and  common 
schools,  let  that  not,  as  is  the  case  now  in  the  interior  of  our  State, 
be  a  misnomer  any  longer.  Let  them  be  free,  and  furnish  the 
means  of  education  to  the  poor  of  the  land.  Your  future  members 
of  the  legislature,  congressmen,  governors,  and  presidents,  are  to 
be  found  among  these  classes,  for  nature  has  baptized  the  child  of 
poverty  with  the  blessing  of  energy.  All  the  history  of  our  country 
and  of  every  free  country  conclusively  proves  this  proposition,  for 
the  great  men  of  every  free  land  have  sprung  from  the  common 
people.  Education  is  particularly  for  them;  it  is  due  to  them  from/ 
our  hands  and  the  hands  of  the  great  body  of  the  people.  I  would 
gladly  vote  for  a  law  that  would  compel  the  attendance  of  all 
children  of  a  certain  age  at  some  school,  for  a  certain  length  of 
time  each  year;  but  let  us  first  furnish  the  means  before  we  under 
take  to  apply  such  a  restriction.  * 

I  have  heard  it  intimated  more  than  once  that  this  question 
was  to  be  made  a  political  question;  that  the  position  that  men 
would  take  here  would  be  carefully  written  down  and  noted,  and 
that  their  political  status  hereafter  would  be  determined  by  the 
position  they  took.  I  have  regretted  this  exceedingly;  but  if  there 
were  any  reason  why  I  should  speak  at  all  upon  this  subject,  so  as 
to  be  incapable  of  being  misunderstood,  the  latter  would  furnish 
the  strongest  one.  Whenever  any  portion  of  the  people  of  this 
State,  or  my  fellow-citizens,  see  fit  to  object  to  me,  because  of  the 
opinions  I  entertain,  or  the  efforts  I  make  in  the  line  and  direction 
of  duty,  let  them  object,  and  let  them  act.  I  ask  no  favors. 
Whenever  any  portion  of  the  people  cannot  find  in  my  acts  some 
thing  to  approve,  let  them  condemn;  it  may  be  that  I  can  do  as 
well  without  them  as  they  can  without  me.  I  have  no  high  ad 
miration  for  that  class  popularly  denominated  politicians — those 
whose  opinions  hang  loosely  about  them;  those  changelings,  who 


AND   SCHOOL  REPORTS.  35 

simply  seek  office  that  they  may  get  bread.  Our  country  has  been 
cursed;  its  lamentable  throes  to-day  are  the  legitimate  and  logical 
sequence  of  the  action  of  these  detestable  creatures.  My  doctrine 
and  instincts  alike  demand  that  upon  any  and  all  occasions  I 
should  speak  out,  and  let  what  I  say  be  tried  upon  its  merits.  I 
have  no  fear  though,  that  this  question  will  be  made  a  political  one. 
I  do  not  think  that  there  are  within  the,  limits  of  this  State  a  suffi 
cient  number  of  men  vain  and  foolish  enough -to  undertake  to  erect 
as  a  standard  of  political  action  any  form  of  ^supposed  religious 
opinions.  I  do  not  believe  there  are  any  considerable  number  of 
men  who  will  make  it  a  condition  of  their  suffrages  hereafter,  that 
the  vote  to  be  cast  here  shall  be  cast  in  a  particular  direction.  I 
trust  in  God,  sir,  that  we  will  be  spared  such  a  condition  of  things. 
But  if  it  should  come,  and  there  must  be  a  war  of  opinions,  all  I 
have  to  say  is,  that  I  am  prepared  to  bear  my  part  in  it.  I  would 
not,  to-day,  for  the  concentration  of  all  the  offices  in  the  country 
into  one,  and  my  enjoyment  of  that  one,  sacrifice  the  opinions  that 
I  have,  or  the  action  that  my  conscience  demands  of  me  in  connec 
tion  with  this  subject. 


24.  ELEVENTH  ANNUAL   REPORT,  1861. 

In  this  report  Mr.  Moulder  argued  the  necessity  of  more 
money  to  make  the  schools  effective;  asked  for  an  appropriation 
of  $5000  for  a  State  Normal  School,  and  published  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Normal  Schools,  appointed  by  the  State 
Institute,  of  May,  1861;  reported  that  the  State  Institute  had 
been  largely  attended;  that  the  transfer  of  the  power  of  exam 
ining  teachers  from  Trustees  to  State  and  County  Boards  of  Ex 
amination  was  driving  the  quacks  out  of  the  occupation;  touched 
upon  the  subject  of  schoolhouses;  stated  that  the  law  author 
izing  the  adoption  of  a  State  series  of  text-books  had  been  sud 
denly  repealed  near  the  close  of  the  session  of  the  Legislature 
of  1861,  and  asked  for  the  passage  of  another;  asked  the  Legis 
lature  to  make  some  provision  for  school  libraries;  stated  that 
within  eight  months  after  the  passage  of  the  act  of  April  22, 
1861,  165,463  acres  of  township  lands  had  been,  or  were  about 
to  be  sold;  and  closed  by  referring  to  his  previous  reports  re 
lating  to  a  State  Military  Institute. 

25.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1862. 

The  Legislature  of  this  session  passed  an  act  establishing  a 
State  Normal  School  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  and  made  an 
appropriation  for  that  purpose  of  $3000.  The  State  Normal 


36  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

School  was  subsequently  opened  during  the  same  year,  and 
Mr.  Aliira  Holmes  was  appointed  principal. 


26.  TWELFTH  ANNUAL  REPORT,  1862. 

In  his  last  report,  Mr.  Mooilder  recommended  a  plan  for 
funding  the  indebtedness  of  the  State  to  the  School  Fund ; 
that  Trustees  be  required  to  report  the  amount  of  interest, 
if  any,  which  they  received  from  Township  School  Funds; 
that  power  be  conferred  on  Trustees  to  collect  rate  bills  by  law; 
that  the  State  Board  of  Education  be  empowered  to  adopt  a 
uniform  series  of  text-books;  stated  that  the  State  Normal 
School  had  been  successfully  organized,  and  asked  an  appro 
priation  of  $6000;  alluded  to  a  State  Agricultural  School  under 
the  act  of  Congress  granting  lands  to  the  same;  and  closed  by 
publishing  his  correspondence  with  State  Controller  Warren, 
who  had  declined  to  pay  the  semi-annual  interest  on  the  State 
indebtedness  to  the  School  Fund. 


27.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1863. 

During  this  session  of  the  Legislature,  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Education  referred  the  subject  of  revising  and  codifying  the 
school  laws  to  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  John 
Swett. 

-^  Public  opinion  was  not  yet  sufficiently  awakened  to  secure  any 
very  liberal  taxation  for  support  of  schools,  but  some  good  pro 
visions  were  incorporated  into  the  law. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  leading  provisions : 

1.  A  provision  requiring  the  Superintendent,  at  the  expense 
of  the  State,  to  furnish  a  State  school  register  to  each  school. 

2.  Requiring  the  State  Superintendent  to  visit   schools,  to 
attend  County  Institutes,  and  to  address  public  assemblies  on 
subjects  relating  to  public  schools,  and  providing  for  the  pay 
ment  of  actual  traveling  expenses,  not  to  exceed  $1000. 

3.  Provision  for  the  annual  appropriation  of  $150  out  of  the 
County  General  Fund  for  the  County  Teachers'  Institute. 

4.  Making  the  term  of  office  of  School  Trustees  three  years, 
instead  of  one,  and  providing  for  the  election  of  one  Trustee 
annually. 

5.  Providing  a  stringent  law  for  the  assessment  and  collec- 


AND  SCHOOL  EEPOETS.  37 

tion  of  district  taxes  for  building  purposes,  or  for  the  support 
of  free  schools. 

6.  Providing  for  the  assessment  and  collection  of  rate  bills. 

7.  Authorizing  the  State  Board  of  Examination  to  issue  State 
educational  diplomas,  valid  for  six  years;  State  certificates  of 
the  first  grade,  valid  for  four  years ;  and  second  and  third  grade 
certificates,  valid  for  two  years. 

An  act,  framed  and  introduced  by  Hon.  E.  F.  Dunne,  was 
passed  requiring  all  teachers,  under  penalty  of  being  illegally 
employed,  and  of  forfeiting  their  salaries,  to  take  an  oath  of 
allegiance. 

SCHOOL    FUND. 

An  act,  prepared  by  Governor  Low  and  Hon.  D.  E.  Ashley, 
was  passed  providing  for  the  gradual  funding  of  the  indebted 
ness  of  the  State  to  the  School  Fund,  which  amounted  at  that 
time  to  $475,520. 

Under  authority  of  an  act,  approved  May  3,  1852,  providing 
for  the  disposal  of  the  500,000  acres  granted  to  this  State  by 
act  of  Congress  for  the  purpose  of  internal  improvements,  and 
reserved  by  the  State  Constitution  for  school  purposes,  it  was 
made  the  duty  of  the  State  Treasurer  to  convert  the  proceeds 
"into  bonds  of  the  civil  funded  debt  of  the  State,  .bearing  seven 
per  cent,  interest  per  annum,  and  to  keep  such  bonds  as  a  special 
deposit  in  his  custody,  marked  *  School  Fund,'  to  the  credit  of 
said  School  Fund." 

This  provision  was  never  complied  with,  for  payments  were 
made  in  depreciated  scrip,  or  Controller's  warrants ;  the  scrip 
paid  in  was  canceled,  and  to  this  extent  the  School  Fund  was 
used  by  the  State  to  defray  the  ordinary  expenses  of  govern 
ment.  The  State,  therefore,  owed  to  the  School  Fund  the  sum 
of  $475,520,  derived  from  the  sale  of  237,760  acres  of  land,  sold 
prior  to  April  23,  1858. 

The  State  had  always  recognized  this  debt  by  appropriating 
annually  for  school  purposes  a  sum  equal  to  the  interest  at  seven 
per  cent,  per  annum  upon  the  amount  of  this  indebtedness. 
But  the  school  department  was  placed  completely  at  the  mercy 
of  the  annual  general  appropriation  bill,  and  if  no  appropriation 
was  made,  as  was  the  case  in  1861  and  1862,  there  was  no  redress. 

This  act,  approved  April  14,  1863,  provided  for  the  gradual 
funding  of  this  unfunded  debt  to  the  School  Fund,  by  requiring 
that  whenever  State  bonds  were  redeemed,  such  bonds  to  such 

' 


38 


SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 


amount  as  should  thus  be  redeemed  with  the  sum  of  $475,520 
should  not  be  canceled,  but  should  be  kept  as  a  special  deposit 
in  the  custody  of  the  Treasurer,  marked  "School  Fund,"  in  the 
same  manner  and  for  the  same  purposes  as  are  the  bonds  di 
rectly  purchased  for  said  School  Fund. 

This  was  an  important  measure.  Under  its  provisions  the 
entire  indebtedness  of  the  State  to  the  School  Fund  has  been 
converted  into  State  bonds  at  seven  per  cent. 


28.   THIRTEENTH  ANNUAL  REPORT,  1863. 

The  constitutional  amendments  adopted  in  1862,  provided 
for  the  election  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
at  the  Special  Judicial  Election,  instead  of  at  the  general  elec 
tion,  and  for  a  term  of  four  years.  Superintendent  Swett's 
first  term  of  office — three  years — was  thus  cut  short  to  a  term 
of  eleven  months.  He  was  renominated  and  re-elected  in  Octo 
ber,  1863. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  main  topics  treated  of  in  Mr. 
Swett's  first  report. 


Receipts  and  Expenditures; 

Schools; 

School  Children; 

Attendance; 

Terifners'  Wages; 

Change  of  Teachers; 

County  Institutes; 

Errors  in  Reports  of  County  Superin 
tendents; 

Reports  of  Teachers  and  Trustees; 

District  School  Trustees; 

Proceedings  of  State  Teachers'  Insti 
tute; 

Convention  of  County  Superintendents; 

State  Board  of  Examination; 

State  Certificates  and  Diplomas; 

State  Educational  Society; 


County  Teachers'  Certificates; 

Reports  and  Blanks; 

School  Registers; 

Order  Books; 

State  Normal  School; 

The  California  Teacher; 

District  School  Libraries; 

Schoolhouses  and  School  Architecture; 

State  Agricultural  School; 

University  Fund; 

Condition  of  the  School  Fund; 

Department  of  Public  Instruction; 

State  School  Tax; 

The  Schools  and  the  State; 

Public  Schools  and  Patriotism; 

Military  Drill  in  School. 


The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  argument  in  favor  of  a 
State  School  Tax  : 

The  most  important  measure  which  demands  the  attention  of 
legislators,  is  that  of  a  State  school  tax  for  the  better  maintenance 
of  public  schools.  I  believe  the  time  has  arrived  in  the  history  of 
our  State  when  the  absolute  necessity  of  such  action  can  be  fully 
demonstrated,  and  when  the  efficiency  of  the  schools  cannot  be 
greatly  increased  without  it.  Whenever  the  question  of  increased 
taxation  is  agitated,  it  is  due  to  taxpayers  and  property-holders 
that  good  and  sufficient  reasons  should  be  explicitly  set  forth,  and 


AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  39 

that  it  should  be  clearly  shown  that  the  public  good  requires  it. 
The  condition  of  the  public  schools,  as  exhibited  by  the  statistical 
returns,  will  be  to  many  minds  conclusive  evidence  of  the  necessity 
of  a  State  school  tax ;  but  the  importance  of  the  question  demands 
that  argument  should  be  added  to  the  weight  of  facts  and  figures. 

Our  American  system  of  free  schools  is  based  upon  two  funda 
mental  principles  or  axioms: 

First.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  a  republicans  or  representative  gov 
ernment,  as  an  act  of  self-preservation,  to  provide  for  the  education 
of  every  child. 

Second.  That  the  property  of  the  State  should  be  taxed  to  pay 
for  that  education. 

Simple  propositions  they  seem;  yet  they  have  been  recognized 
and  acted  upon  in  no  other  country  but  our  own.  Other  nations, 
it  is  true,  have  their  national  systems  of  instruction  partially  sup 
ported  by  Government,  and  under  Government  control;  but  no  na 
tion  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  ever  organized  a  system  of 
schools  like  ours,  controlled  directly  by  the  people,  supported  by 
taxation;  free  to  all,  without  distinction  of  rank,  wealth,  or  class; 
and  training  all  children  alike,  whether  foreign  or  native-born,  to 
an  intelligent  comprehension  of  the  duties,  rights,  privileges,  and 
honors  of  American  citizens. 

In  the  minds  of  the  hard-fisted,  iron-willed  settlers  of  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  where,  under  the  wintry  sky  of  suffering,  want,  and 
war,  the  germs  of  our  American  school  system  struggled  into  exist 
ence,  common  schools  and  taxation  were  as  inseparably  connected 
as  were  taxation  and  representation. 

A  few  extracts  from  the  old  colonial  laws  will  show  how  early 
our  free  school  system  sprang  into  existence.  A  section  of  the 
Massachusetts  Colony  laws  of  1642  reads  as  follows: 

"Forasmuch  as  the  good  education  of  children  is  of  singular 
behoof  and  benefit  to  any  commonwealth ;  and  whereas,  many  pa 
rents  and  masters  are  too  indulgent  and  negligent  of  their  duty  in 
that  kind;  it  is  ordered  that  the  Selectmen  of  every  town  shall  have 
a  vigilant  eye  over  their  brethren  and  neighbors,  to  see,  first:  that 
none  of  them  shall  suffer  so  much  barbarism  in  any  of  their  families 
as  not  to  teach,  by  themselves,  or  others,  their  children  and  apprentices 
so  much  learning  as  may  enable  them  perfectly  to  read  the  English 
tongue,  upon  penalty  of  twenty  ^hillings  for  each  neglect  therein." 

In  1647  this  law  was  followed  by  another,  to  the  end,  in  the 
words  of  the  statute,  "  that  learning  may  not  be  buried  in  the  graves  of 
our  fathers  in  the  Church  and  the  Commonwealth  t"  which  required 
every  town  of  fifty  families  to  provide  a  teacher  to  instruct  all  the 
children  of  the  town  in  reading  and  writing,  and  every  town  of  a 
hundred  families  to  set  up  a  grammar  school,  with  a  teacher  com 
petent  to  fit  young  men  for  the  university ;  the  expense  of  these 
schools  to  be  borne  by  the  town,  or  by  the  parents,  as  the  town 
should  determine. 

In  1692  the  law  provided  that  these  schools  should  be  supported 
exclusively  by  lax  levied  on  all  the  properly  of  the  town. 

In  1785,  an  ordinance  respecting  the  disposition  of  the  public 
lands  was  introduced  into  the  old  Congress,  referred  to  a  committee, 


40  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

and  passed  on  the  20th  of  May,  which  provided  that  the  sixteenth 
section  of  every  township  should  be  reserved  "for  the  maintenance 
of  public  schools." 

The  celebrated  ordinance  of  1787,  which  confirmed  the  provisions 
of  the  land  ordinance  of  1785,  further  declared,  that  "general  moral 
ity  and  knowledge  being  necessary  to  good  government  and  the  happiness 
of  mankind,  schools,  and  the  means  of  education,  shall  be  forever 
encouraged."  * 

As  the  results  of  this  noble  policy,  more  than  fifty  millions  of 
acres  of  the  public  lands  have  been  set  apart  for  the  purposes  of 
education. 

****** 

It  is  said — leave  the  question  of  taxation  to  the  citizens  of  each 
district  ?  The  fact  that  only  eighteen  districts  voted  a  tax  last  year 
is  good  evidence  that  the  districts  will  fail  to  do  their  duty.  If  it  is 
argued  that  the  Boards  of  Supervisors  of  the  different  counties  will 
assess  a  county  tax  sufficient  to  maintain  good  schools,  the  statistical 
exhibit  of  the  condition  of  the  schools  proves  the  contrary.  Only 
four  counties  in  the  State  assess  the  maximum  rate  allowed  by  law. 

Shall  we  rely  on  the  interest  of  the  School  Fund  for  the  support 
of  our  public  schools?  Our  School  Fund  amounts  to  less  than  a 
million  of  dollars,  and  it  will  not  be  largely  increased  for  many 
years  to  come.  The  annual  apportionment  from  that  source  amounts 
to  only  one  dollar  per  child;  is  that  sufficient  to  properly  educate 
the  children? 

Can  it  be  said,  in  view  of  facts,  that  California  is  doing  her  full 
duty  in  maintaining  public  schools  ?  She  raises  by  taxation  only 
$4.42  per  child,  and  the  total  amount  raised  from  all  sources,  rate 
bills  included,  is  only  $7.  Massachusetts  raised  by  tax,  last  year, 
$6.44  per  child;  and  as  the  cost  of  educating  in  California  is  at  least 
four  times  as  great  as  in  that  State,  to  make  as  liberal  a  provision  we 
ought  to  raise  $25  per  child.  The  cost  of  educating  a  child  in  the 
public  schools  for  ten  months  in  the  year,  in  San  Francisco,  where 
it  is  made  economical  in  consequence  of  classification  and  the  con 
centration  of  large  nutnbers,  is  $21  per  year.  Is  an  average  of  $7  per 
child  sufficient  for  the  State  at  large?  San  Francisco  derives  from 
all  sources  an  average  of  $13.70  per  child;  and  yet,  with  this  liberal 
provision,  the  public  schools  are  crowded  to  their  utmost  capacity, 
and  one  thousand  children  more  would  attend  were  room  provided. 

Is  it  wise  for  legislators  to  fold  their  arms  in  apathetic  indiffer 
ence,  when  twenty  thousand  children  of  school  age,  or  twenty-five 
and  one  half  per  cent.,  are  reported  as  "not  attending  any  school?" 
Is  this  recognizing  the  principle  "that  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of 
Government  to  provide  for  the  instruction  of  all  youth?"  When 
the  average  length  of  time  school  is  continued  is  only  six  months  in 
the  year,  is  it  probable  that  the  children  will  be  more  than  half 
educated?  "When  the  percentage  of  daily  attendance  on  the  public 
schools  is  only  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  children 
in  the  State  of  school  age,  and  the  percentage  of  attendance  on  the 
whole  number  enrolled  is  only  fifty  five  per  cent ,  can  the  State  be 
said  to  educate  her  children  ? 

When    California   has  only  219  free   schools  out  of  754   public 


AND  SCHOOL  EEPORTS.  41 

schools,  can  she  boast  of  her  liberality  in  the  presence  of  the  other 
loyal  States,  whose  schools  are  all  free  schools? 

If  one  State  in  the  Union  needs  a  system  of  free  schools  more 
than  any  other,  that  State  is  California.  Her  population  is  drawn 
from  all  nations.  The  next  generation  will  be  a  composite  one, 
made  up  of  the  heterogeneous  atoms  of  all  nationalities.  Nothing- 
can  Americanize  these  chaotic  elements  and  breathe  into  them  the 
spirit  of  our  institutions  but  the  public  schools. 

STATE   TAX. 

As  the  first  step  towards  the  organization  of  a  system  of  free 
schools,  and  the  better  maintenance  of  the  public  schools,  a  special 
State  school  tax  of  half  a  mill  on  the  dollar  ought  to  be  levied  on 
the  assessable  property  of  the  State.  This  would  yield  a  revenue  of 
at  least  $75,000,  or  about  one  dollar  per  child — and  two  dollars  per 
child  on  the  number  enrolled  in  the  public  schools.  True,  this 
would  not  make  the  schools  free,  neither  would  it  continue  them  ten 
months  in  the  year;  but  it  would  give  a  fresh  stimulus  to  county 
and  district  taxation,  and,  in  four  years,  would,  I  believe,  give  the 
State  a  system  of  schools  virtually  free. 

The  public  opinion  of  the  State  is  in  advance  of  legislation. 
After  traveling  extensively  through  the  State,  addressing  public 
tissemblies,  with  every  facility  for  careful  observation,  it  is  my  opinion 
ihat  the  people  would  indorse  this  measure,  were  it  submitted  to  a 
popular  vote,  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

The  fallowing  petition,  prepared  by  the  State  Superintendent, 
has  been  extensively  circulated  in  the  various  school  districts 
throughout  the  State:  VAjJ&^^MJrt 

xiv*** 

"  PETITION     FOR    STATE    SCHOOL    TAX. 

' '  To  the  Honorable  the  Members  of  the 

Legislature  of  the  State  of  California : 

f<  WHEREAS,  "We  believe  that  it  is  the  duty  of  a  representative  gov 
ernment  to  maintain  public  schools  as  an  act  of  self-preservation, 
and  that  the  property  of  the  State  should  be  taxed  to  educate  the 
children  of  the  State;  I  and  whereas,  the  present  School  Fund  is 
wholly  inadequate  to  sustain  a  system  of  FREE  SCHOOLS;  we,  the  un 
dersigned,  qualified  electors  of  the  State  of  California,  respectfully 
ask  your  honorable  body  to  levy  a  SPECIAL  STATE  TAX  of  half  a  mill  on 
the  dollar,  during  the  fiscal  years  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty -four 
and  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five,  the  proceeds  of  the  same  to  be 
disbursed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  present  State  School  Fund." 

All  these  petitions  have  not  yet  been  returned  to  the  Depart 
ment  of  Public  Instruction,  and  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the 
number  of  signatures  obtained. 

In  the  districts  where  they  have  been  circulated,  teachers  and 
school  officers  report  that  it  was  a  rare  exception  to  find  a  man  de 
clining  to  sign  them,  and  that  the  only  objection  raised  was  that  the 
petition  did  not  ask  for  a  higher  tax. 

The  names  attached  to  this  petition  will  be  entitled  to  the  seri- 
3 


42  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

ous  consideration  of  legislators.  They  will  represent  the  substan 
tial  citizens  of  the  State;  men  of  families,  men  of  property,  men 
who,  in  attaching  their  names,  consider  it  equivalent  to  voting  the 
tax  and  paying  it. 

A  State  tax  of  half  a  mill  on  the  dollar  was  levied  last  year  and 
is  to  be  levied  annually  for  carrying  on  the  work  of  building  the 
State  Capitol;  shall  the  work  of  building  schoolhouses  cease?  By 
the  time  the  Capitol  is  finished,  it  will  have  cost  as  much  as  all  the 
schoolhouses  in  the  State  built  up  to  that  time.  Is  it  not  quite  as 
essential  that  houses  should  be  erected  for  educating  a  hundred 
thousand  electors  as  that  a  costly  pile  should  be  built  for  the  accom 
modation  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  legislators  ? 

Are  we  taxed  more  heavily  than  the  States  which  have  borne  the 
burden  of  the  war  ?  Are  we  so  tax-ridden  and  so  poor  that  we  can 
not  raise  one-fourth  as  much  for  educating  our  children  as  Illinois 
or  Michigan  or  Massachusetts  ?  California  stands  to-day  the  most 
peaceful  and  the  most  prosperous  State  in  the  Union.  When  the 
people  of  other  States,  staggering  under  taxation,  their  sources  of 
prosperity  dried  up,  their  able-bodied  laborers  more  than  decimated 
by  the  calls  of  the  army — when  they  declare  that  not  a  dollar  less 
shall  be  raised  for  schools,  that  not  a  schoolhouse  shall  be  closed — 
shall  California,  of  all  the  States,  alone  shrink  back  from  the  duty 
of  educating  her  children  ?  Shall  all  our  inexhaustible  resources  of 
mineral  wealth  be  expended  on  "  feet/'  and  the  brains  of  the  chil 
dren  be  left  undeveloped?  Shall  millions  be  expended  in  con 
structing  a  Pacific  Railroad,  and  the  State  fail  to  lay  the  solid  founda 
tions  of  character  and  intelligence  on  which  rest  the  permanent 
prosperity  of  the  generation  which  will  reap  the  benefits  of  that 
great  highway  of  the  world?  Shall  we  make  every  sacrifice  of  men 
and  money  to  maintain  the  Union,  for  a  generation  unfitted,  through 
want  of  education,  to  appreciate  either  our  sacrifices  or  the  value  of 
the  inheritance  we  leave  them? 

The  real  wealth  of  the  State  lies  not  in  mines  of  silver,  or  gold, 
or  copper;  not  in  productive  fields  and  fertile  valleys,  but  in  her  edu 
cated  men  and  intelligent  free  laborers.  Educated  mind  has  made 
the  world  rich  by  its  creative  power.  The  intelligent  minds  which 
have  invented  the  hundreds  of  labor-saving  machines  in  every  de 
partment  of  industry,  have  created  a  wealth  greater  than  the  total 
product  of  the  mines  of  Mexico,  California  and  Australia  combined. 
All  these  inventions  were  once  dim  ideas  in  the  busy  brains  of  edu 
cated  men;  ignorance  found  out  none  of  them. 

How  many  dollars  is  the  electric  telegraph  worth  ?  How  many 
cattle  and  horses  and  copper  mines  the  invention  of  sewing  ma 
chines  ?  What  influence  is  so  mighty  in  developing  this  creative 
power  of  society  as  the  intelligence  imparted  in  the  public  schools  ? 
Go  to  the  Patent  Office,  and  find  out  how  many  inventions  come 
from  the  land  of  common  schools,  and  how  many  from  the  States 
that  have  failed  to  establish  them. 

The  machinery  brought  into  use  since  eighteen  hundred  and 
sixteen  is  estimated  to  be  equal  to  the  labor  of  five  hundred  millions 
of  men. 

Ignorance  never  invented  a  machine  to  save  the  labor  of  a  single 
man. 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  43 

The  life  of  the  nation  lies  not  in  a  few  great  men,  not  in  a  few 
brilliant  minds,  but  is  made  up  of  the  men  who  drive  the  plow, 
who  build  the  ships,  who  run  the  mills,  and  fill  the  machine-shops, 
who  build  the  locomotives  and  steam  engines,  who  construct  the 
railroads,  who  delve  in  the  mines,  who  cast  the  cannon,  who  man 
the  ironclads  and  gunboats,  who  shoulder  the  musket,  and  who  do 
the  fighting;  these  constitute  the  life  and  strength  of  the  nation; 
and  it  is  with  all  these  men  that  the  public  schools  have  done  and 
are  now  doing  their  beneficent  work.  The  nation  will  not  be  saved 
by  any  one  "  great  man;"  the  bone  and  muscle  of  intelligent  labor 
ing  men  must  work  out  its  salvation.  Blundering  statesmen  may 
mar  the  fortunes  of  the  war;  general  after  general  may  show  up 
his  own  incompetence;  the  concentrated  and  consolidated  intelli 
gence  of  the  workingmen  and  fighting  men  will,  in  the  end,  prove 
victorious.  When  the  bayonet  has  done  its  work,  the  ballot-box 
must  protect  the  freedom  won  on  the  battle-field.  When  every 
ballot  represents  an  idea,  and  falls  electrified  with  intelligence  to 
"execute  a  freeman's  will,"  the  States  will  revolve  harmoniously 
around  the  central  sun  of  a  consolidated  Union;  no  star  will  shoot 
off  in  eccentric  orbit  into  the  chaos  of  disunion,  or  the  cometary 
darkness  and  desolation  of  secession. 

29.   SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1864. 
The  supplementary  and   amendatory  bill    prepared   by  the 


Superintendent  of  Public  Insu^lRana  introduced  by  the1 
Committee  on  Education  in  the  Assembly,  Mr.  J.  J.  Owen, 
Chairman,  contained  the  following  provisions  : 

1.  Levying  an  anniial  State  school  tax  of  five  cents  on  each 
$100  of  taxable  property  in  the  State,  to  be  apportioned  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  interest  of  the  State  School  Fund. 

2.  Requiring  each  county  to  levy  a  minimum  county  school 
tax  equal  to  two  dollars  for  each  child  between  4  and  18  years 
of  age. 

8.  Raising  the  maximum  rate  of  county  tax  allowed  by  law 
from  twenty-five  cents  to  thirty  cents  on  each  $100. 

4.  Making  it  the  imperative  duty  of  Public  School  Trustees 
to  levy  a  direct  property  tax  sufficient  to  maintain  a  public 
school  five  months  in  each  year,  whenever  the  State  and  county 
school  money  shall  be  insufficient  for  that  purpose. 

5.  Authorizing  County  Superintendents  to  subscribe  for  a 
sufficient  number  of  copies  of  some  State  educational  journal 
to  furnish  each  Board  of  School  Trustees  in  the  State  with  one 
copy,  at  an  expense  not  exceeding  one  dollar  a  year. 

6.  Allowing  County  Superintendents  a  sum  for  postage  and 
expressage  equal  to  two  dollars  for  each  school  district. 


44  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

7.   Kequiring  history  of  the  United  States,  and  physiology 
and  hygiene,  to  be  studied  in  all  the  schools  above  the  grade/ 
of  primary. 

This  bill  passed  the  Assembly  without  opposition,  bat  in  the 
Senate  a  determined  fight  was  made  to  defeat  it.  The  follow 
ing  is  the  Senate  vote  on  this  bill,  which  was  one  of  the  great 
est  advances  ever  made  in  school  legislation  in  the  State : 

AYES — Benton,  Burnell,  Crane,  Cunningham,  Foulke,  Hall, 
Haswell,  Kutz,  Maddox,  McMurtry,  Moyle,  Porter,  Roberts, 
Shepard,  Tuttle,  and  Wright-— 18. 

NOES — Buckley,  Dodge,  Evans,  Freeman,  Gaskill,  Hamilton, 
Hawes,  Montgomery,  Pearce,  Bedington,  Rush,  and  Shafter 
-12. 

30.   FIRST  BIENNIAL  REPORT,  1864-65. 

The  change  of  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature  from  annual  to 
biennial  required  biennial  school  reports  instead  of  annual. 

The  First  Biennial  Report  was  the  most  elaborate  of  Mr. 
Swett's  reports.  It  opened  as  follows : 

At  the  opening  of  this  report,/!  take  pleasure  in  stating  that  the 
criticisms  of  1863  no  longer  applyTb  our  school  system,  and  that  the 
hope  expressed  in  1864  has  been  more  than  realized. 

Notwithstanding  the  school  year  closed  before  the  bountiful 
harvests  of  the  autumn  were  gathered,  and  while  the  State  was  still 
suffering  from  its  previous  financial  prostration,  the  statistical  re 
turns  exhibit  an  educational  progress  of  which  all  Californians  may 
well  be  proud. 

While  the  increase  of  taxable  property  in  the  State  from  1863 
to  1864  was  only  three  and  seven-tenths  per  cent.,  the  increase  of 
school  money  raised  by  taxation  alone,  of  1865  over  1864,  on  the 
assessment-roll  of  1864,  was  ninety-one  and  seven-tenths  per  cent. 

The  average  length  of  schools  has  been  increased,  since  1863, 
nearly  one  month.  While  the  number  of  teachers  has  increased 
.only  fifteen  per  cent,  during  the  last  year,  the  amount  paid  for 
teachers'  salaries  has  increased  sixty  per  cent. 

The  amount  of  school  revenue  from  all  sources  has  been  in 
creased,  since  1863,  $2.58  per  census  child. 

The  amount  expended  for  schoolhouses  shows  an  increase  over 
1863  of  $164,000. 

While  the  number  of  children  between  4  and  18  years  of  age 
has  increased  26  per  cent,  since  1863,  the  average  number  belong 
ing  to  public  schools  has  increased  in  the  same  time  46  per  cent. 
During  the  last  year  the  increase  of  census  children  was  9J  per 
cent.,  and  of  public  school  attendance  16  per  cent. 

The  number  of  free  schools  has  been  increased  seventy-eight  in 
two  years,  and  more  than  half  the  public  school  children  are  now 


AND   SCHOOL  REPORTS. 


45 


relieved  from  rate  bills,  while  the  remainder  pay  an  average  tuition } 
fee  of  twenty-five  cents  a  month. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  full  statistical  tables  submitted  in 
this  report,  will  show  a  great  advance  in  all  that  relates  to  the  ma 
terial  progress  of  the  schools. 

But  there  is  a  vital  and  intangible  aspect  which  no  statistics  can 
exhibit. 

The  stronger  hold  which  the  schools  have  taken  on  public  opinA 
ion;  the  greater  skill,  earnestness,  and  ability  of  teachers;  the  im 
provement  in  methods  of  instruction  and  classification;  the  greater 
interest  and  enthusiasm  of  pupils,  consequent  upon  the  introduction 
of  better  books;  the  greater  interest  of  parents;  the  civilizing  agency 
of  well-conducted  schools  in  all  the  little  communities  of  the  State— 
these  cannot  be  expressed  in  figures  nor  conveyed  in  words. 

California  has  taken  her  place  in  the  front  rank  with  those  States  t 
whose  material  prosperity  has  been  the  result  of  public  schools;  and 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  legislator  and  every  statesman  to  strengthen 
and  perfect  a  system  of  schools  which  shall  educate  a  race  of  men 
,and  women  for  the  next  generation  that  shall  inherit,  with  the 
boundless  resources  of  the  Golden  State,  something  of  the  energy, 
enterprise,  talent,  character  and  intelligence  which  have  settled  and 
civilized  it. 


The  following  are  some  of  the  main  topics  treated  of  in  this 
report: 


"What  our  Public  Schools  have  Cost. 

School  Property. 

Comparative  Cost  of  Public  and  Private 

Schools. 

Comparison  with  other  States. 
Cities  and  Rural  Districts. 
School  Children. 
Length  of  Schools. 
Teachers'  Wages. 
Amendments  to  the  School  Law. 
Course  of  Study. 
Boards  of  Examination. 
School  Libraries. 
Teachers  and  Trustees. 
National  Bureau  of  Education. 


State  Agricultural  College. 

County  School  Tax. 

County  Institutes. 

School  Visits. 

State  Institutes. 

Methods  of  Teaching^ 

Course  of  Study  for  Ungraded  Schools. 

Common  Sense  in  Teaching. 

Physical  Training. 

Moral  Training.      _  — - 

The  Bible  in  the  Schools. 

School  Discipline. 

Corporal  Punishment. 

State  Normal  School. 

Public  Schools  and  Taxation. 


This  report  closed  as  follows : 

I  am  reluctant  to  close  this  long  and  complicated  report  of  details 
and  statistics,  necessary  to  be  made,  and  yet  from  their  character, 
tiresome  to  most  except  school  officers  and  teachers,  without  a  final 
appeal  to  the  legislators  who  will  be  called  upon  to  act  on  its  sug 
gestions  and  recommendations. 

Previous  to  the  lessons  taught  us  by  the  great  war  just  closed — 
in  suffering,  and  doubt,  and  blood,  and  tears — the  great  fundamental 
truths  of  our  school  system  had  grown  to  be  glittering  generalities 
for  gracing-  political  speeches  or  governors'  messages.  These  truths 
are  now  felt  as  a  solid  reality  by  the  States  on  the  other  side  of  the 
continent;  and  under  all  the  burdens  of  their  debts,  incurred  in 


46  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

saving  the  nation,  they  are  striving  to  make  their  public  schools 
more  effective  by  more  liberal  provisions  for  their  support.  I  am 
painfully  conscious  that  our  schools,  while  accomplishing  something, 
fall  far  short  of  the  great  work  which  is  pressing  upon  them.  They 
need  both  judicious  legislation  for  their  government  and  liberal  tax-  " 
ation  for  their  support.  It  is  a  matter  of  deep  regret  to  all  thinking 
men,  that  some  of  our  citizens  who  represent  the  greatest  wealth  of 
the  community  are  engaged  in  a  crusade  against  taxation  for  the 
support  of  schools,  and  are  waging  their  warfare  under  the  hue  and 
cry  of  extravagance,  for  the  purpose  of  exciting  the  prejudices  of 
the  people. 

LIBERALITY    IS    ECONOMY. 

Liberality  in  educating  the  people  is  the  true  economy  of  States. 
What  would  be  extravagance  in  one  individual,  whose  life  is  limited 
to  a  few  years,  is  economy  in  the  life  of  a  State  or  nation;  what 
would  be  economy  in  a  single  man,  is  meanness  in  a  State.  This 
generation  is  not  living  for  itself  alone,  but  for  future  generations 
and  for  the  future  greatness  of  the  nation.  We  have  those  among 
us  who,  to  save  from  each  dollar  they  call  their  own,  a  tax  of  one  . 
one-hundredth  of  one  per  cent.,  would  make  serfs  of  the  next  gen 
eration  by  leaving  the  children  to  grow  up  in  ignorance;  who  think 
intelligence,  cultivation,  refinement,  honor,  integrity,  morality, 
religion  and  patriotism  among  common  people — the  working  classes 
— are  myths;  that  the  only  thing  tangible  is  real  estate,  and  the 
great  object  of  life  is  to  escape  taxation.  Public  schools  are 
synonymous  with  taxation;  they  represent  taxation,  and  the  sooner 
the  "common  people"  understand  this  democratic-republican  doc 
trine  the  better  for  the  State,  the  better  for  property,  the  better  for 
mankind,  the  better  for  the  nation.  There  is  altogether  too  much 
of  this  whining  about  taxation  for  the  support  of  schools.  Where 
would  the  nation  have  been  to-day  but  for  public  schools  ?  "Who  • 
fought  our  battles  in  the  last  war,  but  the  men  who  were  drilled 
into  patriots  in  public  schools  supported  by  taxation  ?  Last  37ear 
the  nation  paid  $22,000,000  for  the  support  of  schools;  what  true 
statesman  wishes  it  had  been  less?  The  public  schools  are  the 
educators  of  the  working  men  and  women  of  the  nation,  and  they 
are  the  producers  of  all  the  wealth  which  is  protected  by  law.  The 
schools  mold  the  characters  of  the  men  whose  will,  expressed 
through  the  ballot-box,  makes  and  unmakes  constitutions,  and  '"' 
breathes  life  into  all  laws. 

I  appeal  to  legislators,  when  the  school  bill  comes  before  them, 
to  bear  in  mind  that  in  providing  for  schools,  a  liberal  expenditure 
is,  in  the  end,  the  truest  economy;  and  when  the  cry  of  taxation  is 
urged  against  any  reasonable  and  necessary  appropriations,  to 
remember  this  great  truth,  so  well  expressed  by  Horace  Mann:  "  In 
our  country  and  in  our  times  no  man  is  worthy  the  honored  name 
of  statesman  who  does  not  include  the  highest  practicable  education 
of  the  people  in  all  his  plans  of  administration.  He  may  have 
eloquence,  he  may  have  a  knowledge  of  all  history,  diplomacy, 
jurisprudence — and  by  these  he  might  claim  in .  other  countries  the 
elevated  rank  of  statesman;  but,  unless  he  speaks,  plans  and  labors, 


AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  47, . 

at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  for  the  culture  and  edification  of  the 
whole  people,  he  is  not,  he  cannot  be,  an  American  statesman. 

31.  SECOND  BIENNIAL  REPORT,  1866-67. 

/This  report  opens  with  the  following  statement  of  progress:    / 

The  school  year  ending  June   30,  1867,   marks    the  transition 
"/period  of  California  from  rate-bill  common  schools  to  an  American 

/free  school  system. 

V        For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  State,  every  public  school 
was  made  entirely  free  for  every  child  to  enter. 

In  the  smaller  districts,  having  less  than  100  children  and  less   / 
than  $200,000  taxable  property,  free  schools  were  maintained  three 
months;  in  the  larger  districts,  having  more  than  100  children  and 
$200,000  taxable  property,  free  schools  were  kept  open  Jive  months  S 

More  than  21,000  pupils  attended  freg  schools  during  the  entire 
school  year  of  ten  months. 


FREE    SCHOOLS   AT   LAST. 

I  am  glad  that  in  this,  my  last  official  report,  I  can  say  that 
a  system  of  free  schools,  supported  by  taxation,  is  an  accomplished 
fact. 

When  I  assumed  the  duties  of  this  office,  five  years  ago,J[  saw 


J    clearly  that  it  was  useless  to  expect  to  improve  the  character  of  the 


Legislature 

the  School  Law,  and  a  State  school  tax  of  five  cents  on  the  hundred 
dollars,  which  gave  an  additional  revenue  to  the  State  Fund  of 
$75,000  a  year.  A  bill  was  also  passed  providing  for  the  gradual 
funding  of  the  indebtedness  of  the  State  to  the  School  Depart 
ment,  then  amounting  to  $600,000.  At  the  next  session,  in  1864, 
an  additional  school  revenue  was  secured  by  providing  that  the 
minimum  county  school  tax  should  be  equal  to  $2  per  census  child. 
This  little  clause  gave  an  additional  county  school  revenue  of 
$75,000. 

In  1866,  by  the  passage  of  the  "  Eevised  School  Law,"  the  State   , 
school  tax  was  raised  to  eight  cents  on  the  hundred  dollars,  and    ; 
the  minimum  county  tax  was  raised  equal  to  $3  per  census  child, 
both  provisions  together  increasing  the  school  revenue  by  at  least 
$125,000  a  year.     I  need  not  say  that  to  secure  an  additional  school 
revenue  of  $300,000  per  annum,  in  the  face  of  the  high  county, 
State,  and  National  taxation,  during  a  period  of  civil  war,  was  no 
holiday  task. 

During  each  successive  session  of  the  Legislature  I  became  a 
persistent  member  of  the  "Third  House,"  arguing,  soliciting,  meet 
ing   committees,  and   patiently  waiting,  with   a   determination    to 
secure  for  every  child  in  California  a  right  guaranteed  by  law  to  an  v 
education  in  a  system  of  free  schools  based  upon  the  proposition 
that  the  property  of  the  State  ought  to  be  taxed  to  educate  the  / 
children  of  the  State.  (     / 

V 


SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

I  saw  clearly  at  the  outset  that  even  after  the  revenue  was  pro 
vided,  the  schools  would  be  to  some  extent  a  failure,  unless  pro 
tected  from  incompetent  teachers  by  a  thorough  system  of  State 
examinations  and  certificates,  for  the  schools  cannot  rise  higher 
than  the  teachers. 

PROFESSIONAL    TEACHERS. 

The  second  leading  object  of  my  administration  has  been  to  se 
cure  a  corps  of  professional  teacLc-±t>,  and  to  elevate  the  occupation 
of  teaching.     How  far  this  has  been  accomplished,  the  list  of  pro 
fessional  teachers,  and  the  graduates  of  the  Normal  School,  foundx 
in  this  report,  will  show. 

One  third  of  the  teachers  in  the  State  hold  State  diplomas  and 
certificates,  and  one  twelfth  of  the  teachers  are  graduates  of  the 
California  State  Normal  School. 

A  State  Board  of  Education,  of  Examination,  of  Normal  School 
Trustees;  a  uniform  series  of  text-books,  a  course  of  study,  rules 
and  regulations,  an  educational  journal — all  constitute  a  system  of 
education,  in  place  of  the  irregular  and  unsysteinatized  half  public 
and  half  rate-bill  schools  of  five  years  ago. 

•v. 
THE    REVISED    SCHOOL    LAW. 

Early  in  the  session  of  1865-66,  the  State  Superintendent  sub 
mitted  a  series  of  amendments  to  the  Senate  Committee  on  Edu 
cation. 

The  amendments  were  so  extensive  that  the  committee  referral 
the  entire  law  to  the  Superintendent  for  revision.  The  law,  ,•  ? 
drafted  Uv-  ? v. . ,  was  submitted  to  the  committee  and  adopted,  with 
a  few  slight  changes. 

The  more  important  improvements  effected  in  the  School  Law  by 
the  first  revision  in  1863,  and  the  second  revision  in  1865,  may  be 
/briefly  summed  up  as  follows: 


. 


1.  Organizing  a  State  Board  of  Education  of  nine  members. 

2.  Organizing  a  Board  of  State  Normal  School  Trustees  of  eight 
.members. 

3.  Authorizing  the  State  Board  of  Education  to  adopt  rules  and 
regulations  and  a  course  of  study  for  public  schools. 

„    4.  Authorizing  the  State  Board  to  adopt  a  uniform  State  series  of 
text-books. 

5.  Providing  each  school  with  a  State  School  Eegister. 

6.  Providing  for  the  binding  and  preservation  of  school  docu 
ments  in  the  State  and  county  departments  of  instruction. 

7.  Providing  that  the  Legislature  shall  furnish  the  State  Superin 
tendent  with  at  least  two  thousand  copies  of  each  biennial  report 
for  distribution  among  school  officers  and  libraries. 

8.  Requiring  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  to 
visit  schools  and  lecture  at  least  three  months  each  year,  and  pro 
viding  for  the  payment  of  actual  traveling  expenses. 

9.  Establishing  County  Teachers'  Institutes,  and  providing  for  the 
payment  of  necessary  expenses  out  of  the  County  School  Fund. 

10.  Funding  the  debt  of  the  State  to  the  School  Fund. 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  49 

11.  Enlarging  the  powers  and  duties  of  County  Superintendents,  f 
in  details  too  numerous  to  mention. 

12.  Payment  of  County  Boards  of  Examination. 

'13.  Postage  and  Expressage  Fund  for  County  Superintendents. 
—     14.  Increasing  the  salaries  of  County  Superintendents. 

15.  Authorizing    County    Superintendents   to    equalize   district 
boundaries.  , 

16.  The  election  of  Trustees  for  a  term  of  three  years  instead  of   f 
one. 

17.  Eequiring   the   District   Clerk   to   furnish   the    schools  with 
pens,  ink,  stationery,  and  school  incidentals,  at  the  expense  of  the 
district. 

18.  The  establishment  of  graded  schools. 

19.  Providing  for  the  legal  establishment  of  separate  schools  for 
children  other  than  white  children. 

20.  Limiting  the  school  time  of  children  under  eight  years  of  age 
to  four  hours  a  day,  exclusive  of  intermissions. 

21.  Establishing  a  system  of  school  libraries  by  the  reservation 
of  ten  per  cent,  of  the  State  School  Apportionment. 

22.  Authorizing  a  State  subscription  for  an  educational  journal — 
two  copies  for  each  school  district,  one  for  the  District  Clerk,  and 
one  for  the  school  library. 

23.  Life  diplomas  for  teachers. 

24.  State   educational   diplomas,  valid  for  six  years;   and  first, 
second  and  third  grade  State  certificates. 

25.  Establishing  City  Boards  of  Examination. 

26.  Authorizing  the  State   Board  to   issue  State  certificates  on 
county  examinations  with  the  State  series  of  questions. 

27.  Authorizing  the  State  Board  to  recognize  the  Normal  School 
diplomas  of  other  States. 

28.  Requiring  all  Boards  of  Examination,  whether  State,  city  or 
county,  to  be  composed  exclusively  of  professional  teachers  who 
are  holders  of   State  diplomas,  or  first  grade  city  or  county  cer 
tificates. 

29.  A  State  tax  of  eight  cents  on  each  $100  of  taxable  property. 

30.  Requiring  a  minimum  county  school  tax  of  $3  per  census  child, 
and  increasing  the  maximum  tax  to  35  cents  on  each  $100. 

31.  Authorizing  and  requiring  School  Trustees  to  levy  a  district 
school  tax  sufficient  to  keep  a  free  school  five  months  in  a  year. 

32.  Changing  the  school  year  to  correspond  with  the  State  fiscal 
year,  July  1  to  June  30.  / 

AVERAGE  LENGTH  OF  SCHOOLS. 

^  The  average  length  of  time  during  which  public  schools  are  main 
tained  during  the  year  is  7.2  months.  Last  year,  for  the  first  time 
in  the  history  of  the  State,  all  the  schools  were  kept  free  to  all 
pupils  for  a  period  of  from  3  to  5  months,  according  to  the  num 
ber  of  children  and  the  taxable  property  in  the  district. 

It  marks  an  epoch  in  the  school  history  of  the  State.     Had  rate; 
bills  been  levied  as  before,  during   the  entire  year,    the    average 
length  of  the  term  of  tuition  in  the  schools  would  doubtless  have  : 
been  increased.  I 


50  SCHOOL   LEGISLATION 

The  death-blow  to  rate,  bills  has  been  given,  and  they  will  soon 
be  among  the  things  of  the  past. 

Last  year  21,200  pupils  attended  schools  which  were  kept  open 
and  entirely  free  for  9  and  10  months  in  the  year. 

10,000  more  attended  schools  which  were  entirely  free,  but  were 
kept  open  less  than  9  months. 

The  number  of  schools  maintained  from  3  to  6  months  was  387; 
from  6  to  9  months,  281;  and  from  9  to  10  months,  including  San 
Francisco  as  208  schools  of  60  children  each,  422. 

SALARIES    OF    TEACHEES.  'l 

The  average  monthly  salaries  of  males  teachers  is  $77;  of  female 
teachers,  $64. 

As  the  average  length  of  schools  is  7.2  months,  the  average  an 
nual  salary  of  male  teachers  is  $554;  of  female  teachers,  $460. 

Even  if  teachers  were  employed  for  the  whole  school  year  of  10 
months,  which  is  the  case  only  in  the  city  schools,  the  average  an 
nual  salary  of  a  male  teacher  would  be  only  $770  a  year,  from  which 
deduct  $300  for  twelve  months'  board  at  $25  per  month,  and  there 
would  remain  only  $470  as  the  net  proceeds  of  a  year's  work.  De 
duct  from  this  $100  for  clothing,  and  the  salary  stands  at  $370. 

Trustees  in  some  parts  of  the  State  who  complain  that  the  salaries 
of  teachers  are  too  high,  and  that  school  expenditures  are  extrava 
gant,  will  do  well  to  consider  these  figures. 

The  admission  of  teachers  into  the  occupation  is  virtually  in  the 
hands  of  the  teachers  in  this  State  now  engaged  in  teaching.  Ele 
vate  the  standard  of  admission,  and  the  occupation  will  soon  become 
a  respectable  business.  It  will  soon  be  better  paid  than  brute 
labor.  No  occupation  is  more  laborious;  none  wears  out  muscle  and 
brain  faster.  It  is  only  in  the  vigor  of  early  manhood  that  a  man 
can  follow  his  profession.  Shall  he,  then,  be  paid  no  more  than 
the  mechanic,  or  the  day-laborer  who  shovels  sand  on  the  streets? 
The  brain  labor  of  the  skillful  teacher  ought  to  be  as  well  paid  as 
the  brain  labor  of  the  lawyer,  the  physician,  the  clergyman,  the 
editor.  He  ought  to  dress  as  well  and  live  as  well.  His  profession 
ought  to  cost  him,  and  often  does,  as  much  time  and  money  as 
other  professions.  He  ought  to  be  paid  a  salary  sufficient  to  enable 
him  to  supply  himself  with  a  library,  and  the  periodical  literature 
of  the  day.  He  should  have  a  salary  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  live 
respectably,  dress  neatly,  and  move  in  the  intelligent  circles  of  so 
ciety  like  other  educated  men.  He  should  be  paid  enough  to  sup 
port  a  family.  Teachers  well  paid  can  devote  all  their  time  and 
energies  to  the  schools.  They  are  not  greater  philanthropists  than" 
their  neighbors  whose  children  they  educate.  None  of  them  teach 
from  pure  love  of  teaching.  They  do  their  duty,  and  expect  their 
pay  for  it;  it  is  the  way  in  which  they  earn  their  living./  They 
ought  not  to  be  expected  to  break  mental  bread  to  the  children  of 
others  and  feed  their  own  with  stones.  Good  teachers  are  not 
to  be  estimated  by  their  daily  salary  of  five  dollars.  Persons 
enough  could  be  found  in  the  State  at  half  the  present  rates,  but 
the  people  would  be  the  losers.  It  is  the  teachers  who  give  char-' 
acter  and  efficiency  to  the  schools.  The  State  may  legislate,  the 


AND   SCHOOL  REPORTS.  51 

people  may  vote  taxes,  and  build  schoolhouses,  but  the  teachers 
build  schools,  and  mold  character,  and  act  on  mind.  High  sala 
ries  will  attract  talent  and  skill,  and  hold  them  both  in  the  schools. 
Low  wages  will  fill  the  schools  with  bunglers,  and  waste  the  public 
money.  If  the  people  of  California  desire  to  lay  well  the  founda 
tions  of  the  State  for  all  future  time,  they  must  employ  skilled 
master-masons  to  hew  the  corner-stones. 

SCHOOL    LIBRARIES. 

The  school  library  system  provided  by  the  School  Law  of  1866 
is  in  successful  operation. 

It  was  established  in  accordance  with  my  recommendation  in  the 
biennial  report  for  1865,  as  follows: 

After  studying  the  plans  of  other  States,  and  considering  the 
subject  in  every  possible  relation,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  following  plan  is  the  most  practicable  one  which  can  at 
present  be  carried  into  effect  in  this  State : 

It  should  be  made  the  duty  of  the  County  Superintendent  in 
each  county  to  annually  set  apart  ten  per  cent,  of  the  State  appor 
tionment  of  school  moneys  to  each  district,  provided  ten  per  cent, 
does  not  exceed  fifty  dollars,  and  to  cause  it  to  be  held  by  the 
County  Treasurer,  as  a  District  School  Library  Fund;  and  it  should 
be  the  duty  of  Trustees  to  expend  this  fund  for  library  books,  pro 
vided  that  when  the  amount  is  less  than  ten  dollars  the  sum  may 
remain  in  the  treasury  until,  together  with  subsequent  apportion 
ments,  it  shall  amount  to  that  sum. 

It  should  be  made  the  duty  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  to 
prepare  an  extended  list  of  books  suitable  for  school  libraries,  and 
from  the  published  list  Trustees  should  make  all  their  selections 
for  purchase.  Such  a  provision  would  protect  the  libraries  from 
trash  literature  and  useless  books.  The  Trustees  should  be  made 
librarians,  with  power  to  make  the  teacher  a  deputy. 

RELIGIOUS    EXERCISES   IN    SCHOOL.     ' 

The  report  treats  at  length  on  the  vexed  question  of  religious 
exercises,  and  Bible-reading  in  school.  A  few  items  read  as 
follows : 

The  Constitution  of  California  (Art.  1,  Sec.  4)  provides  that  "  the 
free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  religious  profession  and  worship, 
without  discrimination  or  preference,  shall  forever  be  allowed  in 
this  State." 

Section  60  of  the  Revised  School  Law,  reads  as  follows: 
"No  books,  tracts,  papers,  catechisms,  or  other  publications  of  a 
sectarian  or  denominational  character,  shall  be  used  or  distributed 
in  any  school,  or  shall  be  made  a  part  of  any  school  library;  neither 
shall  any  sectarian  or  denominational  doctrine  be  taught  therein; 
and  any  school  district,  towii  or  city,  the  officers  of  which  shall 
knowingly  allow  any  schools  to  be  taught  in  violation  of  these  pro 
visions,  shall  forfeit  all  right  to  any  State  or  county  apportionment 
of  school  moneys;  and  upon  satisfactory  evidence  of  such  violation, 


52  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

the  State  Superintendent  and  County  Superintendent  shall  with 
hold  both  State  and  county  apportionment." 

Section  70  reads  as  follows : 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  teachers  to  endeavor  to  impress  on  the 
minds  of  their  pupils  the  principles  of  morality,  truth,  justice,  and 
patriotism;  to  teach  them  to  avoid  idleness,  profanity,  and  false 
hood;  to  instruct  them  in  the  principles  of  a  free  government,  and 
to  train  them  up  to  a  true  comprehension  of  the  rights,  duties,  and 
dignity  of  American  citizenship." 

The  School  Law,  then,  is  silent  as  to  whether  or  not  a  public 
school  shall  be  opened  by  the  reading  of  the  Bible  or  by  prayer.  It 
does  not  exclude  the  Bible;  it  does  not  make  the  use  of  it  compul 
sory;  it  does  not  forbid  the  teacher  from  opening  school  with  prayer;, 
it  does  not  compel  him  to  do  it.  It  leaves  the  whole  question  to  be 
decided  by  Boards  of  Education,  Trustees,  teachers,  and  the  people, 
as  their  judgment  may  dictate. 

The  present  is  an  age  of  the  largest  and  broadest  personal  liberty 
of  religious  opinion;  the  children  of  all  classes  are  found  in  the  com 
mon  schools;  and  school  officers  and  teachers  should  manifest  a  ten 
der  regard  for  the  religious  scruples  of  both  Jew  and  Gentile,  Prot 
estant  and  Catholic,  and  hold  the  schools  free  from  any  violation  of 
the  great  principles  guaranteed  by  the  National  and  State  Constitu 
tions,  that  every  man  be  left  free  to  worship  God  as  he  pleases,  and 
to  teach  his  children  his  own  religious  faith. 

The  great  purpose  of  the  common  school  is  intellectual  culture, 
as  a  foundation  of  moral  and  religious  education;  for  without  intel 
ligence,  religion  degenerates  into  bigotry.  It  is  left  for  the  home, 
the  Sunday-school,  and  the  church,  to  teach  forms  of  religious  faith 
and  worship.  If  each  does  its  work  without  interference  with  the 
other,  the  result  will  be  harmonious.  If  the  church  attempts  to 
make  the  public  school  both  a  church  school  and  a  Sunday  school, 
the  result  will  be  disastrous. 

CO-EDUCATION    OF    THE    SEXES. 

I  believe  that  the  presence  of  boys  and  girls  in  the  same  school, 
far  from  being  injurious  to  either  sex,  exerts  a  mutually  beneficial 
influence.  My  belief  is  based  on  many  years'  experience  in  public 
school  teaching,  on  an  extended  observation  of  schools,  and  on  the 
opinion  of  the  most  enlightened  and  progressive  educators. 

CONCLUSION. 

Since  1863,  our  public  schools  have  been  quietly  and  peacefully 
revolutionized.  In  the  grand  events  of  national  history,  in  the 
building  of  cities,  the  construction  of  roads,  the  settlement  of  land 
titles,  and  the  excitement  of  life  incident  to  a  new  State,  the  prog 
ress  of  schools  is  hardly  noticed  except  by  those  who  are  most  di 
rectly  interested  in  them.  Then,  we  had  little  to  be  proud  of  in 
our  educational  record;  now,  California  will  not  suffer  by  compari 
son  with  the  most  progressive  educational  States  in  the  Union. 

Then,  the  annual  amount  of  money  raised  for  public  schools  was 
$480,000;  now,  it  is  $1,287,000,  or  nearly  three  times  as  much. 

* 


/  AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  53 

TJien,  there  was  no  direct  State  tax  for  the  support  of  schools; 
now,  the  State  tax  is  8  cents  on  the  $10^  giving  an  annual  revenue 
from  this  source  alone  of  $120,000.  ^ 

Then,  the  State  apportionment  was  $130,000;  now,  it  is  $260,000. 

Then,  the  amount  raised  by  county  and  city  school  taxes  was 
$294,000;  now,  it  is  nearly  $600,000. 

Then,  the  amount  raised  by  district  taxes,  voted  by  the  people, 
was  $7000 ;  last  year  the  amount  was  $73,000,  or  more  than  ten 
imes  the  amount  raised  in  1862. 

Then,  the  maximum  county  school  tax  allowed  by  law  was  25 
cents,  and  the  minimum  required  to  be  levied,  nothing  at  all;  now, 
the  maximum  tax  is  35  cents,  and  the  minimum  tax  must  be  equal 
to  $3  per  census  child,  which  in  many  counties  requires  the  maxi 
mum  rate  of  35  cents. 

Then,  the  amount  raised  by  rate  bills  of  tuition  was  $130,000 ; 
now,  it  is  only  $79,000,  showing  a  rapid  approximation  to  a  free 
school  system.  Three-fourths  of  the  pupils  now  attend  free  schools 
during  the  year,  and  all  are  secured  by  law  the  right  of  a  free  school, 
either  for  three  months  or  five  months,  in  proportion  to  the  size  of 
district,  v 

Then,  the  total  expenditure  for  schools  amounted  to  a  percentage 
on  the  assessment-roll  of  the  State,  of  30  cents  on  each  $100;  now, 
it  amounts  to  58^  cents  on  the  $100. 

In  1862  the  amount  expended  per  census  child  was  $6.15;  last 
year  it  was  $12.61. 

In  1862  the  amount  expended  for  schoolhouses  was  $49,000;  in 
1865  it  was  $257,000. 

v  Then,  the  average  length  of  the  schools  was  less  than  six  months 
in  the  year;  now,  it  is  seven  and  four-tenths  months — an  average 
length  of  schools  which  is  exceeded  only/ by  Massachusetts  and 
Nevada,  of  all  the  States  in  the  Union.  ^ 

Since  then,  while  the  number  of  census  children  has  increased 
twenty-six  per  cent.,  the  average  number  attending  the  public 
schools  has  increased  more  than  fifty  per  cent. 

The  stronger  hold  which  the  schools  have  taken  on  public  opinion, 
the  greater  skill,  earnestness  and  enthusiasm  of  teachers,  the  con 
sequent  improvement  in  methods  of  instruction  and  classification, 
the  use  of  better  text-books,  the  deeper  personal  interest  of  parents, 
the  neater  and  more  commodious  houses — all  these  together  con 
stitute  an  advancement  which  cannot  be  expressed  by  a  contrast  of 
statistics. 

Then,  we  had  no  system  of  professional  examinations,  no  educa 
tional  society,  no  organization,  and  little  professional  pride;  in  fact, 
a  man  generally  apologized  for  being  forced  to  resort  to  teaching 
until  he  could  find  something  else  to  do. 

/  EXAMINATION    OF    TEACHERS. 

v    Then,  the  "old  schoolmasters"  of  San  Francisco  were  examined  ' 
every  year  by  doctors,  lawyers,  dentists,  contractors  and  business 
men,  to  "  see  if  they  were  fit  to  teach  the  common  school "  they  had 
been  teaching  years   in    succession.     There   was    no    standard   of 
qualification,  except  the  caprice  of  "  accidental  boards."     Through- 


54  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

out  the  State,  examinations  were  oral,  and  in  most  cases  resulted  in 
issuing  to  everybody  who  applied  a  certificate  "to  teach  school  one 
year;  "  now,  a  new  order  of  things  prevails.  Every  Board  of  Exam 
ination,  whether  State,  city  or  county,  must  be  composed  of 
professional  teachers  exclusively;  all  examinations  must  be  in 
writing,  and  in  certain  specified  studies;  and  certificates  are  issued 
for  life,  or  for  &  length  of  time  proportioned  to  the  grade  of  certifi 
cate  issued,  v 

California  is  the  only  State  in  the  Union  in  which  teachers  have 
gained  the  legal  right  to  be  examined  exclusively  by  the  members 
of  their  own  profession,  and  we  have  just  cause  to  be  proud  of  the 
fact.  It  has  already  done  much  to  make  the  occupation  of  teach 
ing  respectable.  It  has  relieved  good  teachers  from  useless  annoy 
ance  and  humiliation;  it  has  increased  their  self-respect,  stimulated 
their  ambition,  and  guarded  the  schools  against  quacks  and  pre 
tenders. 

Our  School  Law  is  the  only  one  in  the  United  States  which  has 
i  taken  broad,  professional  ground,  by  providing  that  the  diplomas 
of  State  Normal  Schools  in  other  States  shall  entitle  the  holders  to 
legal  recognition  as  teachers  in  this  State. 

Strange  to  say,  this  new  system  of  professional  examinations  was 
violently  opposed  four  years  ago,  and  by  none  so  vehemently  as  by 
some  common  school  teachers. 

The  world  moves.  Is  there  a  single  teacher  here  who  would 
desire  to  have  the  old  order  of  things  re-established?  But  I  never 
doubted  that,  once  established,  it  would  remain  a  part  of  our 
school  system  as  long  as  schools  were  maintained. 

It  was  my  sanguine  hope,  for  many  years,  that  in  this  new  State 
teaching  might  aspire  to  the  dignity  of  a  profession;  that  teachers 
might  learn  to  combine  their  strength,  respect  themselves,  com 
mand  the  respect  of  others,  and  honor  their  occupation.  I  have 
lived  already  to  see  the  promise  of  the  future.  It  has  been  and  is 
my  highest  ambition  to  elevate  the  profession  of  teaching;  for  I 
well  know  that  in  no  other  way  can  the  public  schools  be  made  the 
great  educators  of  the  State  and  the  nation.  If  the  citizens  of  this 
State  desire  to  have  good  schools,  they  must  pay  professionally 
trained  teachers  high  salaries. 

It  is  only  by  raising  the  standard  of  attainments  that  the  occupa 
tion  can  become  well  paid  and  well  respected.  Set  the  standard 
high,  and  high  wages  will  follow;  set  the  standard  high,  and  good 
schools  will  be  the  result;  set  the  standard  high,  and  teachers  will 
be  content  to  remain  in  the  schools. 

Let  all  teachers  who  act  on  County,  City  or  State  Boards  of  Ex 
amination,  discharge  their  duty  faithfully,  without  reference  to  the 
pressure  of  friends,  or  the  complaints  of  unsuccessful  applicants, 
ever  bearing  in  mind  the  duty  they  owe  to  the  schools,  the  people, 
and  the  profession  of  teaching. 

Professionally  trained  teachers,  well  paid  for  their  work,  will 
bring  the  schools  up  to  their  fullest  measure  of  usefulness,  and  will 
secure  from  the  people  the  most  liberal  support. 


AND   SCHOOL  REPORTS.  55 

STATISTICS   AND    EEPORTS. 

Four  years  ago  there  was  not  a  teachers'  library  in  the  State, 
except  a  few  odd  volumes  in  San  Francisco. 

Now  all  the  large  counties  have  begun  a  central  library,  and 
some  of  them  have  quite  extensive  ones.  , 

We  have  a  course  of  study,  established  by  law, by  means  of  which 
teachers  are  enabled  to  pursue  an  intelligent  system  of  instruction, 
in  spite  of  the  prejudices  of  those  parents  who  are  too  ignorant  to 
comprehend  the  purpose  of  a  school. 

We  have  judicious  rules  and  regulations,  established  by  law,  to 
aid  teachers  in  enforcing  discipline  and  order.  In  no  other  State  is 
the  authority  of  the  teacher  so  well  established  and  defined  by  law. 
Every  district  school  in  the  State  is  placed  under  a  judicious  system 
of  general  rules  and  regulations. 

¥  Four  years  ago  school  statistics  were  notoriously  unreliable;  the 
records  were  kept  without  system,  in  old  blank  books  or  on  scraps 
of  paper,  and  often  were  not  kept  at  all;  now,  every  school  is 
supplied  with  a  State  School  Register,  so  simple  in  its  style  of  book 
keeping  that  the  most  careless  teacher  can  hardly  fail  to' keep  a  re 
liable  record. 

Then,  Trustees  wrote  their  orders  to  County  Superintendents  on 
scraps  of  paper,  without  much  regard  to  business  forms,  and  often 
without  keeping  any  accounts;  now,  the  neat  order-books,  in  the 
style  of  bank  check  books,  furnished  by  the  Department  of  In 
struction,  allow  of  no  excuse  for  failing  to  keep  a  financial  record 
of  money  paid  out.  \s 

In  1862,  150  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Superintendent  were 
allowed  to  the  office  of  the  State  Superintendent  for  distribution; 
now,  4,000  copies  are  published,  and  the  law  requires  that  a  copy 
shall  be  sent  to  each  Board  of  Trustees,  each  school  library,  each 
County  Superintendent,  and  that  250  copies  shall  be  bound  for  dis 
tribution  to  the  School  Departments  of  other  States. 

SCHOOL   LIBRARIES. 

Then,  there  were  no  school  libraries;  now,  a  library  is  begun  in 
every  school  district,  and  a  liberal  provision  is  made  for  their  en 
largement  by  a  reservation  of  ten  per  cent,  of  the  State  School 
Fund  annually. 

The  influence  of  a  library  in  school  is  second  only  to  that  of  the 
teacher;  and,  in  many  instances,  the  information  self-gleaned  by 
the  pupils  from  books,  is  the  most  valuable  part  of  their  common 
school  education.  Books  will  give  them  a  taste  for  reading,  make 
them  alive  to  knowledge,  and  start  them  on  a  plan  of  self-culture 
through  life.  A  teacher  may  fail  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  but 
the  influence  of  good  books  is  sure  and  lasting. 

Then,  most  of  the  county  schools  were  destitute  of  maps,  charts, 
and  globes;  now, -most  of  them  are  supplied. 

Then,  all  school  incidentals,  such  as  pens,  pencils,  ink,  and  sta 
tionery,  were  furnished  by  the  pupils  themselves,  and  as  a  conse 
quence,  half  of  the  children  were  generally  without  these  indis 
pensable  articles;  now,  they  are  furnished  by  the  district  to  the 
pupils,  free  of  expense. 


56  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 


PROGRESS. 

When  we  consider*  the  generally  depressed  condition  of  business 
in  the  State  during  the  past  four  years;  the  heavy  losses  during 
the  mining  stock  mania;  the  losses  by  flood  and  drought;  the 
gradual  working  out  of  placer  mines,  and  the  consequent  deprecia 
tion  of  property  in  many  places;  the  falling  off  in  the  trade  of  many 
mining  towns;  the  unsettled  condition  of  land  titles  in  many  of  the 
agricultural  sections,  and  consequently  the  unsettled  condition  of 
the  people;  the  slow  increase  of  population  from  immigration,  and 
at  times  its  actual  decrease  in  consequence  of  attractive  mines  in 
«  neighboring  territories,  and  the  slow  increase  of  taxable  property — 
we  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  unexampled  progress  of  our 
common  schools. 

In  the  great  work  of  settling  and  civilizing  a  new  State — in  the 
building  of  cities,  the  construction  of  railroads,  the  cultivation  of 
farms,  the  development  of  quartz  mines,  the  beginning  of  manu 
factures,  and  all  the  varied  branches  of  industry — the  influence  of 
schools  is  lost  sight  of  in  the  figures  of  material  statistics;  and  it  is 
only  when  we  consider  that  the  50,000  children  now  in  the  schools, 
during  the  next  twenty  years  will  take  their  place  in  society  as  the 
workers  and  producers,  that  we  begin  to  realize  the  latent  power  of 
the  schools.  They  are  silently  weaving  the  network  of  mental  and 
moral  influences  which  underlie  civilization;  and  when  the  children 
shall  become  the  masters  of  the  material  wealth  of  the  State,  the 
influence  of  the  schools  will  begin  to  be  evident. 

We  are  apt  to  consider  immediate  results  rather  than  their  re 
mote  causes;  and  hence  the  power  of  the  public  schools  is  seldom 
fully  realized. 

Light,  heat,  and  electricity  build  up  the  material  life  of  the 
globe  out  of  inorganic  matter,  yet  so  slowly  and  silently  that  we 
hardly  observe  the  workings  of  their  subtle  agencies.  So  the 
schools  act  upon  society,  and  organize  its  life  out  of  the  atoms  of 
undeveloped  humanity  attracted  to  the  schoolrooms. 

A  few  weeks  since  I  visited  one  of  the  great  quartz  mills  in  the 
interior  of  the  State.  I  descended  -the  deep  shaft,  where  stalwart 
men  were  blasting  and  delving  in  solid  rock.  Above,  the  magnifi 
cent  mill,  with  fifty  stamps,  like  some  gigantic  monster,  was  crush 
ing  and  tearing  the  white  quartz  with  its  iron  teeth;  and  I  saw  the 
immediate  result  of  all  this  work  in  the  heavy  bars  of  pure  gold, 
all  ready  to  be  stamped  with  their  commercial  value,  and  to  enter 
into  the  great  channels  of  trade.  Then  I  entered  a  public  school 
a  few  rods  distant,  where  a  hundred  children  were  sitting,  silently 
learning  their  lessons.  I  realized  the  relation  of  the  mill  and  mine 
to  the  material  prosperity  of  the  State;  but  the  school,  what  did  it 
yield? 

I  rode  over  the  line  of  the  Central  Pacific  Eailroad  from  the 
springtime  of  Sacramento  into  the  snowy  winter  of  the  Sierra,  and 
I  saw  the  beginning  of  the  great  commercial  aorta  of  a  continent. 
On  its  cuts,  and  embankments,  and  rails,  and  locomotives,  more 
money  had  already  been  expended  than  has  been  paid  for  schools 
since  the  history  of  our  State  began.  I  could  see  the  tangible  re- 


AND   SCHOOL  REPORTS.  57 

suits  of  the  labor  expended  upon  the  road;  but  where  should  I 
look  for  the  value  received  to  balance  the  cost  of  the  schools? 
After  thundering  down  on  its  iron  rails  from  the  mountain  sum 
mits,  I  stepped  into  the  Sacramento  High  School,  and  I  thought  to 
myself:  What  are  these  boys  and  girls  doing,  compared  with  the 
men  who  are  paving  the  great  highway  of  a  nation  ? 

I  go  out  into  the  streets  of  this  great  city;  I  hear  everywhere  the 
hum  of  industry;  I  see  great  blocks  of  buildings  going  up  under 
the  hands  of  busy  mechanics;  I  see  the  smoke  of  the  machine-shops 
and  foundries,  where  skillful  artisans  are  constructing  the  marvelous 
productions  of  inventive  genius;  I  see  the  clipper  ships  discharging 
their  cargoes;  drays  are  thundering  over  the  pavement;  the  banks 
are  open,  and  keen-sighted  capitalists  are  on  'Change;  and  when  I 
go  to  visit  some  little  schoolroom,  where  a  quiet  woman  is  teaching 
reading  and  spelling  to  the  little  children,  the  school  seems  to  be 
something  distinct  from  the  busy  life  outside. 

A  short  time  ago  I  saw  that  ocean  leviathan,  the  "Colorado," 
swing  majestically  out  into  the  stream,  amid  the  shouts  of  thou 
sands  of  assembled  spectators,  and  glide  off  through  the  Golden 
Gate,  to  weave  a  network  of  commercial  interests  between  the  Occi 
dent  and  the  Orient;  and  when,  a'  few  days  after,  I  stood  in  the 
Lincoln  Schoolhouse,  where  a  thousand  boys  were  reciting  their 
lessons,  I  asked:  What  are  they  doing  for  the  city  in  return  for 
$125,000  invested  in  the  house,  and  $20,000  a  year  paid  to  the 
teachers?  The  steamship  comes  back  with  its  passengers  and 
freight,  and  makes  its  monthly  returns  of  net  profits;  but  when 
will  the  school  show  its  balance-sheet? 

But  when  I  pause  to  remember  that  the  steam  engine  was  once 
but  a  dim  idea  in  the  brain  of  a  boy;  that  intelligence  is  the  motive 
power  of  trade  and  commerce;  that  the  great  city,  with  banks  and 
warehouses,  and  princely  residences,  has  been  built  up  by  intelli 
gent  labor;  that  in  the  construction  and  navigation  of  the  ocean 
steamer  SK)  many  of  the  principles  of  art  and  science  must  be 
applied — I  see  in  the  public  school,  with  its  busy  brains,  an  engine 
mightier  than  one  of  steam;  and  the  narrow  aisles  of  the  school 
room  broaden  into  the  wide  and  thronged  streets  of  the  great  city. 
I  know  that  the  school-boys  will  soon  become  workers;  that  one 
will  command  the  steamship,  and  one  will  become  the  engineer; 
one  will  be  a  director  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  and  one  will 
ride  over  it  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States;  one 
will  own  the  quartz  mill;  another  will  build  the  machinery,  and 
another  still  W7ill  invent  some  improved  method  of  working  its  ores; 
one  will  be  the  merchant  who  shall  direct  the  channels  of  trade; 
one  will  be  the  president  of  the  bank,  and  another  sha^l  frame  laws 
for  the  protection  of  all  those  varied  interests — and  the  teacher, 
whose  occupation  seemed  so  disconnected  from  the  progress  of 
human  affairs,  becomes  a  worker  on  mind  which  shall  hold  the 
mastery  over  material  things. 

CONCLUSION. 


58  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

If,  when  my  present  term  of  office  expires,  I  fall  back  into  the 
ranks  as  a  private,  I  shall  feel  proud  of  my  profession,  for  I  hold 
none  more  honorable,  and  to  it  I  expect  to  devote  my  life. 

I  love  the  State  of  my  adoption;  I  am  proud  of  her  educational 
record.  I  hope  to  see  California  as  distinguished  for  her  common 
schools,  her  colleges,  her  institutions  of  learning,  as  she  has  been 
for  the  enterprise  of  her  people  and  the  mineral  wealth  of  her 
mountains. 

I  feel  that  her  future  prosperity  is  closely  related  to  the  education 
of  her  people,  for  the  solid  wealth  of  any  State  consists  in  educated 
and  industrious  men  and  women ;  and  if  the  common  schools  are  kept 
up  to  the  full  measure  of  their  usefulness,  her  future  glory  will  be 
not  so  much  in  her  mines,  her  scenery,  or  her  climate,  as  in  the 
intelligence,  integrity,  morality,  and  patriotism  of  a  people  that 
shall  make  wealth  a  servant  of  science,  art,  literature,  and  religion. 


32.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1868-69. 

The  only  change  made  in  the  School  Law  at  this  session  was 
a  slight  increase  in  the  maximum  rate  of  district  tax  voted  by 
the  people.  The  law  requiring  teachers  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  was  repealed.  A  local  bill  was  passed,  providing 
that  the  City  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  in  Sail  Fran 
cisco  should  be  appointed  by  the  Supervisors  and  Board  of 
Education,  instead  of  being  elected  by  the  -people,  to  take 
effect  in  two  years.  A  bill  was  passed  to  provide  for  organizing 
a  State  University. 

33.  THIRD  BIENNIAL  REPORT,  1868-69.      •  +  ". 

Superintendent  Fitzgerald's  first  report  opened  as  follows : 

"When  I  entered  upon  the  duties  of  State  Superintendent  two 
years  ago,  the  situation  was  peculiar.  It  was  just  after  an  exciting 
political  canvass.  The  wildest  surmises  and  most  absurd  apprehen 
sions  were  indulged  in  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  most  extravagant 
expectations  entertained  on  the  other.. 

My  first  official  utterance  reaching  the  general  public  was  in  my 
address  before  the  State  Teachers'  Institute,  held  in  San  Francisco, 
June,  1868.  In  that  address  I  declared  that  I  had  no  partisan,  sec 
tional  or  sectarian  ends  to  accomplish;  that  our  public  schools 
were  not  to  be  considered  as  either  Democratic  or  Republican, 
Northern  or  Southern,  Protestant  or  Catholic;  that  all  parties  were 
taxed  alike  for  their  support,  and  therefore  had  equal  rights  and 
should  be  treated  with  equal  respect. 

This  report  touched  upon  the  topics  of  "  Objects  of  Educa 
tion,"  "School  Trustees,"  "Examinations,"  "  State  Normal 


AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  59 

School,"  "State  and  County  Institutes,"  " Attendance,"  "Fe 
male  Teachers,"  "Evening  Schools,"  "Politics  in  the  Public 
Schools,"  "San  Francisco  Industrial  School,"  "Uniformity  of 
"Text-Books,"  "  The  California  Teacher"  "The  Institution  of 
the  Deaf  and  Dumb  and  Blind,7'  "The  State  University,"  and 
"Cosmopolitan  Schools." 
It  closes  as  follows : 

This  exhibit  cannot  fail  to  inspire  every  good  citizen  with  pride, 
gratification,  and  hope.  It  gives  assurance  that,  while  our  State  is 
evidently  about  to  enter  upon  a  fresh  career  of  material  development 
and  prosperity,  we  have  abundant  reason  to  hope  that  it  is  destined 
to  a  progress  equally  rapid  in  the  development  of  the  higher  inter 
ests  of  education.  For  what  has  been  done,  I  take  no  credit  to  my 
self.  I  only  claim  that  I  have  earnestly  tried  to  do  my  duty. 


34.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1870. 

The  first  legislation  of  this  session  was  the  repeal  of  the  law 
passed  in  1868-9,  in  relation  to  the  appointment  of  the  City 
Superintendent  of  Public  Schools  in  San  Francisco.  The  bill 
continued  the  former  Superintendent,  James  Denman,  in  office 
for  one  year,  and  then  made  the  Superintendent  elective  at  the 
next  general  election.  The  original  purpose  of  this  law  thus  re 
pealed  was  to  take  the  office  "out  of  politics." 

The  "Revised  School  Law"  was  re-enacted  under  the  title  of 
the  "California  School  Law,"  but  was  not  changed  in  any  of  its 
main  features. 

The  sections  relating  to  rate-bills  were  stricken  out,  being  no 
longer  needed ;  the  State  Normal  School  was  taken  from  the 
hands  of  the  State  Board  of  Education  and  placed  un,der  the 
control  of  a  Board  of  Normal  School  Trustees,  appointed  by 
the  Governor;  and  a  provision  was  made  authorizing  the  County 
Superintendents  to  fix  the  rate  of  county  school  tax,  which  was 
carried  into  effect  in  only  three  or  four  counties,  and  was  after 
wards  pronounced  unconstitutional  by  the  Supreme  Court. 

TEXT-BOOKS. 

The  original  provision  for  uniformity  extended  only  to  country 
districts,. all  incorporated  cities  and  towns  having  special  Boards 
of  Education  being  independent.  The  law  was  amended  so  as  to 
compel  San  Francisco  and  other  cities  *to  adopt  the  State  series 
of  text-books. 


60  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

In  1869  the  State  Board  of  Education  had  made  a  sweeping 
change  of  all  the  school-books  in  previous  use. 

The  State  tax  was  increased  to  10  cents  on  each  hundred 
dollars.  f 

70  '  // 

35.  FOURTH  BIENNIAL  REPORT,  1871-72. 

The  last  report  of  Superintendent  Fitzgerald  opened  as  fol 
lows: 

During  no  period  in  the  history  of  California  has  more  steady 
and  substantial  progress  been  made  in  popular  education  than  the 
two  years  since  the  last  biennial  exhibit  was  made  by  the  Depart 
ment  of  Public  Instruction.  This  progress  has  been  realized  in 
spite  of  an  unusual  and  general  depression  in  business,  resulting 
from  various  exceptional  causes,  and  a  consequent  temporary  check 
upon  immigration  and  material  prosperity. 

freat  educational  enterprises  have  been  successfully  inaugurated, 
abuses  have  been  corrected,  important  and  necessary  reforms  have 
been  made,  antagonisms  have  been  reconciled,  and  a  course  of 
policy  initiated  that,  with  the  united  and  earnest  efforts  of  the  true 
friends  of  popular  education,  will  at  a  very  early  day  culminate  in 
the  attainment  of  what  every  good  citizen  of  California  must  desire 
— a  public  school  system  that  will  furnish  the  fullest  advantages u 
of  an  English  education  to  every  child  in  the  State.  • 

The  State  is  growing,  and  its  educational  development  keeps  pace 
with,  its  growth  in  wealth  and  population.  The  increase  in  the 
number  of  public  school  children  is  more  than  20  per  cent,  in  two 
years.  The  increase  in  the  value  of  school  property  is  about 
20  per  cent,  for  the  same  period. 

This  large  increase  in  the  number  of  children  attending  the 
public  schools  is  evidence  of  their  growing  popularity.  A  just  and 
liberal  administration  of  public  school  affairs  has  won  the  confidence 
and  elicited  the  support  of  all  classes  to  a  gratifying  extent.  This 
can  be  claimed  by  me  in  behalf  of  my  co-officials  in  the  Department 
of  Public  Instruction  throughout  the  State,  without  any  reservation. 
The  friends  of  education  have  worked  together  in  perfect  harmony, 
and  rapid  progress  has  been  the  result. 

The  enormous  amount  added  to  the  value  of  school  property,  let 
it  be  noted,  is  the  result  of  voluntary  taxation,  voted  directly  by  the  v 
people  themselves.  This  fact  furnishes  the  most  conclusive  proof 
of  the  deep  interest  felt  by  the  citizens  of  California  in  the  educa 
tion  of  their  children,  and  affords  a  guarantee  that  they  will  cor 
dially  sustain  any  judicious  measures  that  may  be  presented  for  the 
further  improvement  of  our  school  system. 

AN  INCREASE  OF  STATE  SCHOOL  TAX. 

While  in  our  centres  of  wealth  and  population  the  children  have 
the  advantage  of  a  full  §chool  year's  instruction,  with  the  best 
facilities  for  learning,  truth  compels  the  confession  that  for  the 
more  remote  and  sparsely  settled  districts  of  the  State  our  present 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  61 

system  is  shamefully  inadequate,  and  is  but  a  pretense  for  popular 
education.  Under  the  present  system,  many  districts  can  maintain 
schools  only  from  three  to  six  months  of  the  year.  No  one  need  be 
told  that  such  fragmentary  bits  of  instruction  are  only  a  little  better  • 
than  none  at  all.  During  these  short  school  terms,  the  pupils  of 
such  schools  only  get  fairly  started  in  their  studies  to  be  turned  out 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  forgetting  what  little  they  had 
learned,  and  then  coming  back  after  this  long  and  ruinous  in 
terval  to  commence  again  at  the  former  starting-place,  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  of  knowledge,  under  a  new  teacher — the  old  one  having 
sought  a  new  place  rather  than  attempt  to  live  on  the  hope  of 
another  three  €>r  six  months'  school  next  year.  This  is  but  a  sham, 
a  waste  of  the  public  money,  and  a  flagrant  injustice  toward  a  por-,>, 
tion  of  the  children  of  the  State.  There  are  very  many  of  these 
schools  thus  revolving  year  after  year  on  the  axis  of  a  defective  sys 
tem,  making  some  motion,  but  scarcely  any  real  progress.  In  a 
&tate  system  of  public  instruction  should  not  all  .the -children  of 
the  State  be  treated  alike?  As  a  good  mother,  she  should  dispense 
the  blessings  of  education  with  an  equal  hand.  The  remedy  for 
this  great  evil  and  injustice  is  obvious:  Let  all  the  property  of  the  £ 
State  be  taxed  to  educate  all  the  children  of  the  State.  This  is  the 
chief  point  that  should  now  engage  the  attention  of  those  intrusted 
with  the  management  of  our  public  schools.  The  public  mind  is 
prepared  to  welcome  legislation  for  this  purpose.  The  people  are 
ready  to  sustain  any  practical  measure  that  will  give  them  a  thor-  L 
ough  instead  of  a  partial  public  school  system.  The  principle  in 
volved  is  already  recognized  in  our  present  school  law.  The  ten 
per  cent,  ad  valorem  State  school  tax  is  an  unequivocal  recognition 
of  the  principle  that  the  property  of  the  whole  State  may  be  taxed 
for  the  benefit  of  all  parts  of  the  State.  All  that  is  needed,  there 
fore,  is  the  extension  of  the  practical  application  of  the  principle. 
If  it  be  objected  that  the  taxation  of  all  the  property  of  the  State 
for  all  the  children  of  the  State  would  be  attended  with  inequality, 
some  localities  paying  more  than  their  proportion  of  taxes  into  the 
general  school  fund,  the  answer  is,  that  according  to  the  theory 
already  adopted,  the  State  is  the  educational  unit,  therefore  it  must 
act  as  a  whole,  and  not  partially,  in  disregard  of  the  avowed  theory 
on  which  our  system  is  based.  As  a  complete  organism,  the  good  u- 
of  each  part  is  the  good  of  the  whole  State.  There  is  a  fallacy  in 
the  assumption  that  the  benefits  of  education  are  confined  to  the 
particular  individuals  or  localities  directly  affected  by  the  expendi 
ture  of  the  proceeds  of  local  taxation.  The  benefits  resulting  from 
the  diffusion  of  intelligence  by  means  of  education  in  the  public 
schools  affect  the  entire  body  politic.  The  dollar  contributed  by 
San  Francisco  judiciously  expended  in  Plumas  for  education  is  no 
less  a  benefit  to  the  former  than  to  the  latter.  It  is  equally  evident 
that  the  evils  resulting  from  the  prevalence  of  ignorance  and  vice  ^ 
in  any  neglected  locality  cannot  be  merely  local  evils.  The  virus 
will  spread  through  the  whole  organism,  arid  the  results  will  be 
seen  in  the  criminal  courts,  jails,  hospitals,  and  insane  asylums 
everywhere.  If  the  State  has  the  right  to  tax  all  her  citizens  equally 
to  maintain  State  prisons,  institutions  for  the  insane,  the  deaf, 


62  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

dumb,  and  blind,  and  orphans,  where  is  the  wrong  in  imposing  a 
tax  for  education  for  the  whole  State,  that  will  lessen  all  those  bur 
dens  resulting  so  largely  and  so  directly  from  crime  consequent 
upon  ignorance  ? 

There  is  another  aspect  of  this  question  that  deserves  considera 
tion.  The  disabilities  of  the  present  system  fall  upon  the  frontier 
and  thinly  settled  districts  of  the  State.  The  result  is  that  our 
hardy  pioneers,  who  lead  the  march  of  American  civilization,  extend 
the  area  of  freedom,  subdue  the  wilderness,  and  incur  the  hard 
ships  and  dangers  of  frontier  life,  are,  as  the  reward  of  their  enter 
prise,  energy,  and  courage,  compelled  to  pay  the  penalty  of  seeing 
their  children  grow  up  in  ignorance.  Such  disability  may  in  some 
cases  be  inevitable  and  invincible,  but  there  are  in  California  but 
few  of  these  children  of  the  border  who  are  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  beneficent  hand  of  the  State.  Justice  and  sound  policy  require 
that  the  poorest  barefoot  boy  of  the  humblest  citizen  in  the  poorest 
district  of  the  most  impoverished  county  should  have  as  abundant 
facilities  for  a  common  school  education  as  the  son  of  the  richest 
citizen  of  the  most  opulent  city  in  the  State.  The  fundamental 
purpose  of  a  public  school  system  is  to  insure  the  education  of  al 
the  children  of  the  State.  The  chief  recommendation  of  such  a 
system  is  that  it  secures  the  advantages  of  education  to  those  who 
can  be  reached  in  no  other  way.  If  it  fail  in  this  it  fails  essentially 
to  accomplish  its  highest  end.  Our  system,  then,  is  at  present  a 
partial  failure.  It  is  not  the  part  of  wisdom  to  ignore  such  a  fact, 
looking  only  on  the  bright  side  of  the  picture.  It  is  not  honest. 
While  singing  the  usual  pseans  of  praise  to  our  public  school  sys 
tem,  and  rejoicing,  as  we  legitimately  may,  in  its  benefits,  such 
facts  as  these  remind  us  that  we  still  fall  far  short  of  a  perfect 
system,  and  that  much  work,  wisely  planned  and  earnestly  exe 
cuted,  remains  to  be  done. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  leading  topics  of  this  report : 

State  Text-Book  System.        $ 

Drawing. 

State  and  County  Boards  of  Examina 


tion. 
County  Teachers'  Institutes. 


State  Normal  School. 
School  District  Libraries. 
University  of  California. 
Against  Compulsory  Education 
School  Discipline — a  New  Departure. 


• 


The  following  is  the  closing  section  of  this  report: 

During  my  term  of  office  this  department  has  been  happily  free 
from  sectional  animosities.     I  have  uniformly  deprecated  the  intro 
duction  of  sectional  prejudices  into  our  public  school  literature  and 
exercises,  and  I  think  I  can  safely  appeal  to  my  late  official  asso 
ciates  to  prove  that  my  action  has  been  consistent  with  my  pro 
fession.  (A  Southern  man  by  birth  and  education,  I  would  not  be 
I  willing  to  put  into  our  schools  any  book  that  would  tend  to  excite 
/  or  perpetuate  hatred  or  contempt  towards  the   Southern  people. 
I  An  American  in  feeling  and  principle,  I  would  not  be  willing  to  put 
/    into  our  schools  any  book  that  did  not  inculcate  love  for  our  whole 
country.     I  would  as  zealously  protect  from  insult  or  disparage- 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  63 

inent  any  other  portion  of  our  land  as  that  in  which  I  happened  to 
be  born  and  reared.  My  official  relation  to  the  teachers  of  Cali 
fornia  gave  me  a  better  acquaintance  with  the  men  and  women  from 
different  parts  of  our  Republic,  and  the  consequence  has  been  a 
broadening  of  my  ideas  and  an  enlargement  of  the  circle  of  my 
sympathies  and  attachments.  I  will  never  forget  these  lessons  nor 
lose  these  sympathies: 

Knowing  the  teachers  and  school  officers  of  California  as  1  do,  I 
lay  aside  the  responsibilities  and  arduous  labors  of  State  Superin 
tendent  with  a  firm  belief  that  the  educational  interests  of  the 
State  are  safe  in  their  hands.  Leaving  all  the  various  departments 
of  our  educational  work  in  vigorous  operation  and  healthful  devel 
opment,  I  trust  the  next  four  years  will  bring  uninterrupted  prog 
ress  and  increased  prosperity. 


36.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1872. 

At  this  session  there  was  no  school  legislation  worth  men 
tioning. 

The  Code  Commissioners  reported  the  Codified  Statutes,  in 
cluding,  of  course,  the  School  Law.  The  main  features  of  the 
Revised  School  Law  of  1866  remained  intact,  subject  only  to 
rearrangement  and  changes  of  phraseology. 

Among  the  minor  changes  was  a  provision  excepting  incorpo 
rated  cities  from  the  action  of  "State  uniformity"  of  text-books. 

An  appropriation  of  $300,000  was  made  for  erecting  build 
ings  for  the  State  University. 

37.  FIFTH  BIENNIAL  REPORT,  1872-73, 

Superintendent  Bolander's  Report  opens  with  an  argument 
in  favor  of  compulsory  education,  from  which  the  following 
points  are  taken: 

To  the  question,  "What  is  this  remedy?"  only  one  answer  xjan 
be  given,  or  at  least  only  one  answer  has  thus  far  been  found. /Ad 
mitted  that  education  forms  the  only  secure  foundation  and  bulwark 
of  a  republican  form  of  government,  if  not  of  every  form  of  govern 
ment;  admitted  that  the  universality  of  education  becomes  thus  of 
vital  importance  to  the  State ;  and  admitted  that  the  exigencies  of 
the  case  not  only  empower  but  compel  the  State  to  provide  all  the 
facilities  necessary  to  enable  every  child  to  acquire  at  least  a  com 
mon  school  education,  and  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is 
not  only  the  privilege,  but  the  duty  of  the  State,  to  compel  every 
parent  to  bestow  upon  his  children  at  least  the  education  which  the 
State  places  within  his  reach. 

Education  is  one  of  the  primary  conditions  necessary  to  the  ver 


64:  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

existence  of  a  civilized  government.      This  proposition  is  so  well 
established  and  universally  acknowledged  as  to  have  become  trite, 
and  any  further  consideration  of  it,  beyond  its  mere  enunciation,  is 
unnecessary.     The  extension  and  intensity  of  education  in  a  nation 
Will  determine  the  degree  of  the  nation's  civilization,  and  the  degree 
Vvrm  which  a  nation's  government  is  a  government  "  for  the  people 
PT   and  by  the  people."     This  latter  office  of  education  has  received  the 
,     fullest  recognition  in  the  United  States,  and  every  State  has  de- 
*     clared  its  conviction  that  "knowledge  and  learning  generally  dif- 
2     fused  through  a  community  are  essential  to  the  preservation  of  a 
|ree  government." 

The  fundamental  idea  of  government  is  "the  protection  of  society 
and  its  members,  the  security  of  property  and  person,  the  adminis- 
I      tration  of  justice  therefor,  and  the  united  efforts  of  society  to  fur 
nish  the  means  to  authority  to  carry  out  these  objects."     The  first 
'      means  thus  furnished  to  authority  are  the  powers  of  prescribing  and 
a   enforcing  "rules  of  action"  or  laws,  and  to  punish  any  infraction 


these  laws;  that  is,  to  punish  crime.     But  a  still  higher  power 
than  the  mere  defining  and  punishing  of  crime  has  been  delegated 
;   by  society  to  authority,  namely,  the  power  to  prevent  crime  by  di- 
Wminishing,  and,  if  possible,  removing  altogether  the  causes  of  crime. 
|Fear  of  punishment  helps  to  repress  crime,  but  only  as  far  as  .detec- 
iion  is  quick  and  sure,  and  punishment  swift  and  certain.     The  re 
pressing  or  removing  of  the  motives  or  temptations  to  commit  crime 
not  only  represses  crime,  but  prevents  crime  by  making  its  commis 
sion  impossible  from  its  unreasonableness. 

"Illiteracy  is  incipient  crime,"  or,  as  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  ex 
presses  it,  "  Uneducated  mind  is  educated  vice."  Experience  has 
given  this  proposition  the  force  of  an  axiom  in  sociology.  But 
there  is  not  only  a  necessary  direct  relation  between  illiteracy  and 
crime  ;  there  is  also  a  necessary  direct  relation  between  illiteracy 
and  pauperism  ;  and  as  there  is  no  less  a  necessary  direct  relation 
between  pauperism  and  crime,  we  have  crime  once  more  as  a  result 
ant  —  crime  as  a  direct  result  of  illiteracy;  crime  as  an  indirect  result 
through  the  medium  of  pauperism,  but  no  other  ultimate  result  than 
crime. 

Hence,  in  every  scheme  of  civilized  government  education  has 
been  recognized  as  the  only  force  sufficient  to  diminish  and  remove 
the  causes  of  crime.  But  education  has  another  office.  From  the 
loss  of  supremacy  in  manufactures  to  the  terrible  downfall  of  a  war 
rior  nation  before  a  student  nation,  history  teaches  the  lesson:  Edu 
cation  is  the  first  condition  necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  a  nation. 
History  teaches  still  another  lesson  :  Education  will  be  generally 
diffused  only  under  a  system  of  public  schools;  that  is,  under  a  sys 
tem  in  which  either  the  State  by  direct  taxation  raises  the  funds 
necessary  to  support  for  a  definite  length  of  time  the  schools  needed 
to  give  every  child  a  common  school  education,  or  the  State  compels 
the  different  municipalities  to  establish  and  maintain  such  schools. 
"American  States  have  generally  chosen  the  former  alternative; 
thus  testifying,  in  the  most  emphatic  manner,  that  as  the  prosperity, 
nay,  the  very  existence  of  the  State,,  depends  upon  education,  so 
education  shall  be  the  first  and  paramount  care  of  the  State. 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  65 

* 

The  only  time  the  people  have  had  an  opportunity  to  express 
their  will,  they  have  declared  themselves  overwhelmingly  in  favor 
of  compulsory  education.  Since  then  the  fearful  increase  of  "hood- 
lumism  "  has  made  the  question  one  of  vital  importance.  And  to~~~ 
save  themselves  from  the  rapidly  increasing  herd  of  non-producers, 
who  must  be  supported  by  the  community  at  large,  to  save  them 
selves  from  the  wretches  who  prey  upon  society  like  wild  beasts, 
aomp  rlpmfl/nrl  already  that  ft  law  for  compulsory  education  be 
supplemented  by  a  law  requiring  the  State~to  e"Btat)Tis"h  and  maintain 
labor  schools ,  school  ships,  industrial  and  technical  schools.  The 
times  demand  not  only  that  children  be  educated  in  the  common 
English  branches,  but,  also,  that  children  be  educated  how  to  work. 

Superintendent  Bolander  treats  at  length  on  the  necessity  of 
increasing  the  State  School  Tax,  and  proposes  a  minimum 
apportionment  of  $500  for  each  district,  without  regard  to  num 
bers;  of  the  need  of  teachers  trained  in  Normal  Schools;  and 
closes  with  the  remark  that — 

These  two — long  terms  and  qualified  teachers — are  the  real 
educational  forces  of  the  State;  and  with  them  at  our  command,  the 
prosperity,  efficiency  and  usefulness  of  our  common  schools  will  be 
insured  beyond  peradventure. 


38.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,  1874. 

The  only  act  of  school  legislation  of  any  importance  at  this 
session,  was  the  levying  of  a  State  school  tax  of  $7  per  school 
census  child,  and  the  apportionment  of  $500  as  a  minimum  to 
each  school  or  school  district;  the  balance  to  be  apportioned 

pro  rata  on  the  census  children. 

- 

TEXT-BOOKS. 

All  the  incorporated  cities  except  San  Francisco  were  placed  ; 
under  the  law  of  State  uniformity  of  text-books. 


39.    SIXTH  BIENNIAL  REPORT,  1874-75. 

Superintendent  Bolander's  last  report  opens  with  the  follow 
ing  summary  of  progress : 

Since  my  last  report,  29,953  children  have  been  added  to  our 
school  population ;  117  new  school  districts,  supporting  322  schools, 
have  been  organized;  274  new  schoolhouses  have  been  built  and 
furnished,  and  old  schoolhouses  refurnished,  at  a  cost  of  $613,- 
746.41;  the  school  expenditures  have  been  increased  $544,885.09; 
the  school  property  has  increased  in  worth  $1,011,262.85;  the  aver- 


66  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

age  school  terms  have  been  lengthened  1.33  months,  being  now  7.47 
months  as  against  6.14  months  in  1873;  34  districts,  as  against  464 
in  1873,  maintained  school  less  than  six  months;  765  districts,  as 
against  361  in  1873,  maintained  school  more  than  six  months;  and 
787  districts,  as  against  637  in  1873,  maintained  school  eight  months 
and  over. 

In  relief  to  this  showing  of  our  educational  statistics,  I  must  note 
a  great  advance  in  the  number  of  first  grade  schools,  i.  e.,  high 
schools,  grammar  schools,  and  schools  in  which  high  school  and 
grammar  grade  studies  are  taught  in  addition  to  the  lower  grade 
studies;  the  greater  number  of  teachers  holding  high  grade  certifi 
cates;  in  the  better  salaries  paid  to  lady  teachers;  in  the  greater 
amount  of  funds  spent  for  school  apparatus, "one-half  of  our  districts 
being  now  supplied,  at  least  partly,  with  apparatus.  Much  remains 
yet  to  be  done,  however,  in  the  equipment  of  schoolhouses;  for  one- 
fifth  of  our  districts  have  not  yet  even  the  outhouses  demanded  by 
decency;  three-fourths  of  the  districts  have  not  suitably  improved 
school  grounds;  one-half  of  the  districts  do  not  furnish  their  schools 
with  the  necessary  apparatus;  and  nearly  one-half  of  the  districts 
have  not  furnished  their  schoolrooms  with  improved  furniture. 
f*~"!From  July  1,  1866,  to  June  30,  1867,  for  the  first  time  in  the  his- 
I  tory  of  the  State,  every  public  school  was  made  entirely  free  for 
\  every  child;  and  an  important  transition  was  thereby  marked  in 
^popular  education.  But,  though  every  public  school  was  made  free, 
the  ways  and  means  provided  for  the  public  schools,  and  the  man 
ner  of  apportioning  these  means  to  the  different  districts,  were  for 
years  such  that  only  in  the  centres  of  wealth  and  population  the 
children  had  sufficient  facilities  for  obtaining  a  good  common  school 
education,  whilst  in  all  other  sections  of  the  State  the  school  system 
was  but  a  pretense  for  popular  education.  The  system  went  further, 
for  in  some  cases  it  even  thrust  districts  from  without  its  pale.  Hun 
dreds  of  districts  did  not  receive  sufficient  funds  to  maintain  in 
every  year  the  three  months'  school  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution 
to  every  district  of  the  State.  Up  to  June  30, 1874,  districts  whose 
number  of  census  children  fell  below  a  certain  figure — twenty  for 
some  counties,  up  to  as  high  as  thirty  for  others — did  not  receive  for 
any  one  school  year  sufficient  funds  to  maintain  a  three  months' 
school  for  that  year. 

Thanks  to  the  last  Legislature,  however,  for  the  school  3^ear 
ending  June  30,  1875,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  this 
State,  every  district  received  sufficient  funds  for  not  only  a  three 
months'  school,  but  for  at  least  a  six  months'  school.  The  progress 
thereby  made  in  popular  education  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 
Short  school  terms — which,  until  last  year  have  been  the  rule  and 
not  the  exception  in  a  majority  of  the  districts  of  the  State — place 
within  the  reach  of  our  children  only  such  fragmentary  bites  of 
instruction  which  are  only  a  little  better  than  none  at  all.  Every 
system  of  popular  education  which  does  not  insure  to  every  district 
of  the  State  at  least  an  eight  months'  school  every  year,  is  but  a 
sham.  Long  school  terms  are  the  sine  qua  non  without  which  it  is 
impossible  to  give  our  children  the  full  measure  of  the  amount  and 
quality  of  education  needed  by  them.  Happily,  the  wise  action  of 


AND   SCHOOL  REPORTS.  67 

k 

the  last  Legislature  has  secured  to  our  schools  this  first  factor  in 
every  successful  system  of  popular  education.  The  results  of  this 
action  are  patent.  In  1873,  only  43.3  per  cent,  of  all  the  districts 
maintained  an  eight  months'  school;  in  1875,  this  percentage  is 
raised  to  49.53;  in  1872,  over  464  districts,  or  31.74  per  cent.,  did 
not  keep  a  six  months'  school;  in  1875,  the  number  has  diminished 
to  34,  or  2.15  per  cent,  of  all  the  districts  in  the  State.  In  other 
words,  all  but  34  districts  maintained  at  least  a  six  months'  school. 

Superintendent  Bolander  condemned  "text-books"  in  unmeas 
ured  terms,  spelling-books  in  particular.  He  says : 

In  short,  the  board,  and  through  it  the  State,  must  furnish 
each  teacher  with  a  Manual  of  Instruction.  By  this  means  we  can 
dispense  with  several  text-books,  and  reduce  the  bulk  of  the  remain 
ing  text-books  by  rigidly  excluding  therefrom  everything  which 
appertains  exclusively  to  the  teacher's  office.  A  text-book  should 
be,  what  its  name  implies,  a  "  book  of  texts."  (<  The  sermons  are  to 
be  preached  by  the  teacher — the  book  is  to  furnish  the  texts  which 
are  to  be  analyzed,  developed,  unfolded,  explained,  enlarged  upon 
by  the  teacher — texts  which  need  an  exegesis  to  make  them  under 
stood." 

The  Manual  of  Instruction  will  furthermore  point  out  to  teachers 
the  course  of  culture  and  technical  training  needed  by  them  to 
qualify  themselves  for  their  work;  in  other  words,  it  will  prepare 
teachers  for  their  work.  Being  no  longer  able  to  rely  upon  the 
text-book,  teachers  will  be  compelled  to  assimilate  some  method  of 
teaching,  and,  in  time,  will  then  become  real  teachers,  instead  of 
mere  school  keepers. 

TRAINED    TEACHERS.  ^    rf  » 

For  the  purpose  of  securing  professional  teachers  he  recom 
mended  the  following  plan : 

1.  That  in  our  State  University  be  established  a  school  or  faculty 
of  education  with  a  four  years  course  of  study;  all  students  com 
pleting  and  passing  a  satisfactory  examination  in  the  first  year's 
course,  to  obtain  a  life  certificate  entitling  them  to  teach  any  pri 
mary  or  third  grade  school  in  the  State;  all  students  completing 
and  passing  a  satisfactory  examination  in  the  second  year's  course, 
to  obtain  a  life  certificate  entitling  them  to  teach  any  school  in  the 
State  not  above  the  intermediate  or  second  grade;  all  students  co%m- 
pleting  and  passing  a  satisfactory  examination  in  the  third  year's 
course,  to  obtain  a  life  certificate  entitling  them  to  teach  any  school 
not  above  the  grammar  or  first  grade,  and  to  be  eligible  to  the 
office  of  City  or  County  School  Superintendent;  all  students  com 
pleting  and  passing  a  satisfactory  examination  in  the  four  years 
course,  to  obtain  a  life  diploma  entitling  them  to  teach  in  any  school 
of  the  State,  including  high  schools,  normal  and  training  schools, 
and  the  Educational  College  of  the  University,  and  making  them 
furthermore  eligible  to  the  office  of  State  Superintendent  and  in 
structors  of  normal  institutes. 


68  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

2.  That  the  course  of  study  of  the  State  Normal  School  be  con 
formed  to  the  one  just  sketched. 

3.  That  any  high  school  or  college,  private  or  public,  be  author 
ized  to  establish  a  normal  school  department,  with  a  partial  or  full 
course  of  study  as  prescribed  for  the  Educational  College  of  the 
University,    provided   that    such    department   be   taught   only   by 
graduates  of  the  four  years'  course;  that  the  course  be  the  same  as 
provided  for  the  State  Normal  School,  and  that  the  students  be  ex 
amined  and  certificated  only  by  the  faculties  of  the  State  Normal 
School  and  University.     If  such  department  be  connected  with  a 
public  institution,  tuition  to  be  free. 

4.  That  any  City  Board  of  Education,  or  County  Board  of  Super 
visors,  be  authorized  to  establish  city  or  county  normal   schools, 
teaching  partially,  or  in  full,  the  course  above  mentioned,  but  their 
students  to  be  examined  and  certificated  only  by  the  faculties  of  the 
State  Normal  School  and  University. 

His  plan  for  the  establishment  of  Normal  Institutes  was  as 
follows : 

1.  The  present  Teachers'  Institutes  and  Boards  of  Examination 
are  replaced  by  Normal  Institutes. 

2.  Normal  institutes  are  to  be  held  annually  in  such  places  as 
may  be  determined   upon,  either  by  statute  or  by  authority  con 
ferred  upon  the  State  Superintendent  or  other  officer  or  board. 

3.  Every  normal  institute  must  be  continued  in  session  for  not 
less  than  four  weeks.     It  must  be  under  the  direction  of  a  teacher 
who  is  known  or  proved  to  be  a  thorough  normal  school  instructor; 
such  teacher  to  be  appointed  by  the  State  Superintendent,  or  other 
officer  or  board,  as  may  be  deemed  best.     Each  of  the  teachers  en 
gaged  in  the  State  Normal  School  or  the  Educational  College  of  the 
University,  must  conduct  annually  at  least  one  normal  institute. 

4.  Every  applicant  for  a  teacher's  certificate  must  be  present  at 
the  beginning  of  a  normal  institute;  his  admission  as  a  member  of 
the  institute  must  be  upon  an  examination  like  that  required  of 
applicants  for  admission  into  the  State  Normal  School;  he  must 
attend  the  institute  at  least  one  full  term;  and  must  pass,  at  the 
end  of  the  term,  a  satisfactory  examination  in  the  instruction  given 
during  the  institute. 

5.  The  expenses  of   the   institute  are   to  be  paid   direct  by  the 
State,  or   from   the   unapportioned   County    School   Funds  of  the 
counties  comprising  the  district  in  which  the  institute  is  held. 

I  have  thus  given  the  merest  sketch  of  a  system  of  normal  insti 
tutes  which  can  easily  and  profitably  be  introduced  into  this  State. 
From  this  sketch  an  appropriate  system  can  readily  be  elaborated; 
but  as  so  much  depends  upon  the  temper  and  view  of  the  Legisla 
ture,  and  its  Committees  on  Education,  it  is  preferable  to  leave 
such  elaboration  till  the  time  when  such  committees  can  act  upon 
the  matter. 

He   quoted   extensively  from   various   writers   on    "School 


AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  69 

Hygiene,"  on   "Technical  Education"  and  "Kindergartens," 
and  concluded  as  follows : 

I  now  retire  from  an  office  which  I  entered  with  a  great  deal  of 
hesitancy  and  many  forebodings.  I  brought  to  it  many  firm  con 
victions,  the  growth  of  a  decade  spent  in  the  schoolroom;  and 
according  to  these  convictions  have  I  labored  to  perfect  our  system 
of  education;  and  I  feel  that  I  need  not  fear  the  verdict  of  the 
future.  I  have  at  least  succeeded  in  equalizing  somewhat  the  edu 
cational  facilities  enjoyed  by  the  districts  of  the  State,  and  in 
rationalizing,  in  some  measure,  the  system  of  instruction,  and 
bringing  it  somewhat  more  in  harmony  with  the  "new  education." 

The  appendix  contained  a  manual  of  suggestions  for  teaching 
the  State  course  of  study,  including  an  exposition  of  the 
"Grube  system  "  of  teaching  arithmetic  to  beginners,  and  a  full 
course  of  elementary  lessons  in  local  geography,  and  botany. 
It  contained  also  an  explanation  of  the  "Kindergarten,"  an 
essay  on  "The  Nervous  System  as  affected  by  School  Life,"  by 
Dr.  D.  F.  Lincoln,  of  Boston;  a  report  of  the  State  Board  of 
Examination,  of  the  State  Normal  School,  of  the  Institution  for 
the  Deaf  and  Dumb  and  Blind,  and  the  report  of  the  Regents 
of  the  University. 

40.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION,    1876. 

The  first  school  legislation  during  the  first  week  of  the  session, 
was  a  bill  taking  from  the  State  Board  of  Education  the  power 
of  changing  text-books,  it  being  evident  that  a  majority  of  the 
board  were  in  favor  of  throwing  out  McGufTey's  series  of  Read 
ers,  and  Monteith's  series  of  Geographies. 

Mr.  Carpenter,  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,   introduced  a  bill  ? 
providing  for  a  State  Board  of  Education,   consisting  of  the' 
Governor,  State  Superintendent  and  eight  elective  members,  two 
from  each  congressional  district;  the  board  so  elected  to  assume  j 
the   powers  of  the  State  Board  of  Education,   the  Board  of 
Eegents  of  the  University,  and  the  Trustees  of  the  State  Normal 
School.     The  bill  also  provided  for  abolishing  State  uniformity 
of  text-books,  and  for  giving  boards  of  education  and  school 
trustees  the  power  of  local   adoption.     This    bill  passed  the 
Assembly,  but  was  defeated  in  the  Senate. 

'  Mr.  Hopkins  introduced  a  bill  providing  for  "county  uniform 
ity  "  in  text-books,  which  passed  both  Houses  but  was  pocketed 
by  the  Governor. 


70  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

The  section  relating  to  county  certificates  was  amended  so  as 
to  authorize  county  boards  to  issue  second  and  third  grade  cer 
tificates,  on  an  examination  in  only  the  following  studies :  Arith 
metic,  Grammar,  Geography,  History,  Beading,  Writing, 
Spelling  and  Methods  of  Teaching. 


41.  LIST  OF  STATE  SUPERINTENDENTS. 

John  G.  Marvin  .........................  1851-1854. 

Paul  K.  Hubbs  .........................  1854-1857. 

Andrew  J.  Moiflder  ......................  1857-1863.  v 

John  Swett  .............................  1863-1868.  A 

Rev.  O.  P.  Fitzgerald  ....................  1868-1872.  ^ 

Henry  N.  Bolander  .....................  1872-1876. 

Ezra  S.  Carr  ............................  1876-1880. 

DEPUTY  SUPERINTENDENTS. 

J.  H.  Eickhoff.  ..........................  1872-1876. 

Mrs.  E.  S.  Carr.  .  LC.  .  X  .T.'.  ^.v.  .  .  .  :  .\  .  .1876-1880. 


SUPERINTENDENTS'.  JA^i)  -POLITICS. 

John  G.  Marvin  and  Paul  K.  Hubbs  were  elected  by  the 
Democrats. 

Superintendent  Moulder  was  twice  elected  on  the  Democratic 
ticket.  He  declined  a  nomination  by  the  "  Breckenridge  "  wing 
of  the  Democracy  in  1862. 

In  the  election  of  1862  there  were  three  tickets  in  the  field, 
and  the  State  Superintendent  happened  to  be  the  only  State 
officer  to  be  elected.  The  opposing  nominees  were  Col.  Jona 
than  D.  Stevenson,  by  the  "Douglas  Democrats;"  Eev.O.  P.  Fitz 
gerald,  by  the  "Breckenridge  Democrats;"  John  Swett,  011  the 
"Union  Ticket.'7  The  vote  stood  as  follows:  Swett,  51,238; 
Stevenson,  21,514;  Fitzgerald,  15,514. 

Superintendent  Swett  was  re-elected  on  the  Republican 
ticket  in  1863  by  about  20,000  majority  over  Dr.  O.  M.  Wozen- 
craft,  the  Democratic  nominee,  and  was  renominated  in  1867. 
The  canvass  was  a  bitter  one  on  both  sides.  Hev.  O.  P.  Fitz 
gerald,  the  Democratic  nominee,  was  elected  by  a  majority  of 
1401. 

Superintendent  Fitzgerald  was  renominated  in  1871,  his  op 
ponent  being  Henry  N.  Bolander,  nominated  by  the  Kepub- 


LIBRARY 

UNIVEltSITY   OF 

CALIFORNIA. 


AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS.  71 

licans.  The  canvass  was  quite  an  exciting  one,  and  resulted  in 
the  election  of  Bolander  by  10,000  majority. 

In  1875  the  opposing  candidates  were  Eev.  O.  P.  Fitzgerald, 
Democratic  nominee,  and  Dr.  Ezra  S.  Carr,  Republican  candi 
date.  This  was  also  an  abusive  canvass.  Dr.  Carr  was  elected 
by  a  majority  of  7000. 

It  was  expected  that  the  office  of  State  Superintendent  would 
be  " taken  out  of  politics"  by  providing  for  the  election  at  the 
special  judicial  election,  but  this  measure  only  intensified  the 
evil. 


SPECIAL  HISTORY  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


i.  SCHOOL  REPORTS. 

THE  first  school  reports  published  in  pamphlet  form  by  the 
Board  were  those  of  Superintendent  O'Grady,  1854  and  1855. 
The  Superintendent  reported  the  average  number  of  pupils  to 
a  teacher  to  be  87;  that  a  uniform  series  of  text-books  had  been 
adopted ;  and  that  a  Teachers'  Association  had  been  formed. 

Superintendent  Theller  in  1856  reported  the  following  statis 
tics  : 

Teachers,  39;  Pupils,  3347. 

District.No.  1,  Mr.  Swett,  Principal 683 

District  No.  2,  Mr.  Denman,  Principal 580 

District  No.  3,  Mr.  Ellis  Holmes,  Principal 635 

District  No.  4,  Mr.  Alrira  Holmes,  Principal '733 

District  No.  5,  Mr.  Carlton,  Principal 374 

District  No.  6,  Mr.  Morrill,  Principal 200 

District  No.  7,  Mr.  Macy,  Principal 142 

3347 

In  the  "Ward  Schools  there  were  educated  1421  pupils.  The 
Male  Departments  of  the  Ward  Schools  were  taught  by^male  and 
female  instructors,  and  the  Female  Department  by  the  ladies  of  the 
different  religious  orders  of  the  city,  known  as  Sisters  of  Charity, 
Sisters  of  Mercy,  and  Sisters  of  the  Presentation — all  of  whom  had 
certificates  of  capability,  and  were  licensed  to  teach  by  the  late 


72  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

County  Commissioners  of  Education,  and  drew  their  salaries  from 
the  city,  county  and  State  educational  fund. 

The  school  law  of  1855  abolished  the  separation  of  the  school 
fund,  and  all  these  schools  have  been  mingled  into  one  uniform 
system.  Since  the  5th  of  May  last  there  has  been  no  religious,  sec 
tarian  or  denominational  doctrine  taught  in  them. 

He  reported  the  discipline  good,  and  the  instruction  satis 
factory. 

In  fusing  the  "Ward  Schools"  with  the  public  schools,  the 
following  additional  teachers  were  elected : 

Principal  of  District  No.  4,  Wm.  Hammill,  vice  Ahira  Holmes; 
Principal  of  District  No.  5,  Mr.  T.  S.  Dunne,  vice  Mr.  Carlton; 
District  No.  7,  Mr,  T.  C.  Leonard,  vice  Mr.  Macy;  New  School, 
Thomas  S.  Myrick;  District  No.  8,  Mr.  H.  P.  Carlton. 

By  the  Consolidation  Act,  Mr.  Pelton,  who  had  been  previ 
ously  elected  as  County  Superintendent,  was  made,  ex  officio, 
City  and  County  Superintendent  for  one  year. 

His  report  contained  the  first  full  statistical  tables  of  the 
schools.  He  recommended  the  establishment  of  evening  schools; 
of  a  Teachers'  Institute ;  the  study  of  History  of  the  United 
States;  and  published  the  "Course  of  Study." 

The  reports  of  Superintendent  Janes  for  1857  and  1858  were 
still  more  complete. 

He  reported  the  weekly  Normal  School  a  success,  teachers 
being  compelled  to  attend  ;  recommended  the  establishment  of 
more  evening  classes,  and  treated*  at  length  of  discipline  and 
methods;  gave  a  short  historical  sketch  of  the  early  schools; 
treated  of  methods  of  teaching;  complimented  his  predecessors 
in  office;  opposed  May  festivals;  and  reported  favorably  on  the 
City  Normal  School,  Mr.  George  W.  Minns,  Principal;  Messrs. 
Myrick  and  Swett,  assistants. 

Superintendent  Denman's  report,  1861,  was  longer  than  any 
preceding  report. 

He  summed  up  the  improvements  in  18(50  as  follows: 

1.  Better  Classification.     ^ 

2.  The  grading  into  Grammar  and  Primary  Schools. 

3.  Better  accommodations  and  new  buildings. 

4.  New  furniture. 

5.  School  Registers  furnished  by  the  Board. 

6.  Monthly  Reports  of  pupils.  * 


AND  SCHOOL  EEPOETS.  73 

The  questions  used  in  the  examination  for  admission  to  the 
High  School  were  given  in  this  report. 

SUPERINTENDENT    TAIT's    REPORTS. 

The  four  reports  of  Superintendent  Tait,  1862,  '63,  '64,  and 
'65,  were  all  creditable  documents.  In  his  first  report,  1862, 
Mr.  Tait  reported  a  list  of  graduates  of  the  Minns  Evening 
Normal  School— 16  for  1861,  and  38  for  1862.  He  recom 
mended  that  promotions  in  the  primary  grades  be  made  semi- 
annually;  that  Principals  be  required  to  make  monthly  reports 
to  the  board  of  attendance,  etc. ;  and  that  no  person  under  18 
years  of  age  should  be  eligible  to  teach. 

In  his  last  report,  1865,  he  advocated  the  reading  of  the 
Bible  in  school. 

Superintendent  Pelton's  report  for  1867,  recommended  an 
increase  of  salaries;  a  simplification  of  the  course  of  study, 
and  the  appointment  of  a  Deputy  Superintendent. 

COSMOPOLITAN    SCHOOLS. 

Concerning  the  school,  Mr.  Peltoii  said: 

These  schools  of  recent  establishment  are  designed  to  afford  the 
facilities  for  acquiring  the  modern  languages — German,  French, 
and  Spanish — in  connection  with  the  ordinary  English  course.  As 
elsewhere  stated,  it  has  been  conceived  that  the  object  of  our  Pub 
lic  School  system,  its  true  policy  and  leading  idea,  is  to  meet  all 
reasonable  educational  demands.  A  few  }Tears  since  a  great  num 
ber  of  our  citizens,  native  as  well  as  foreign,  were  compelled  to 
patronize  private  institutions,  with  their  less  perfect  classification, 
and  less  thorough  instruction,  for  the  sake  of  the  modern  lan 
guages,  which  by  the  more  observing  and  thoughtful  of  our  people 
are  considered  of  greater  importance  in  the  ordinary  vocations  and 
positions  of  society  than  much,  very  much  else  included  in  the 
English  course,  especially  in  our  advanced  High  School  course. 
And  there  were  many  of  our  best  citizens  who  were  unable  to  meet 
the  expense  of  private  tuition  for  their  children;  and  }^et  they  were 
unwilling  to  permit  their  sons  and  daughters  to  grow  up  to  ma 
turity,  and  remain  forever  ignorant  of  their  mother  tongue. 

Some  two  years  since,  to  meet  this  public  demand,  I  recom 
mended  the  establishment  of  a  single  class,  now  grown  to  be  the 
Cosmopolitan  Schools  of  this  city.  This  system,  though  by  no  means 
unique,  and  confined  to  this  cit}^  is  here  perhaps  better  organized, 
and  on  a  more  liberal  and  comprehensive  basis,  than  elsewhere. 
The  plan  is  European;  Germany  has  multitudes  of  schools  where 
the  French  and  English  are  recognized  as  we  recognize  the  Ger 
man,  French,  and  Spanish.  There  are  man}7  such  schools  in  the 
Eastern  States. 

This  system,  though  at  first  opposed  here,  as  it  had  been  else 
where  when  first  proposed  and  adopted,  and  before  its  merits  and 
5 


74  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

practicability  had  been  tested,  is  now  exceedingly  popular  in  the 
community,  and  enjoys  a  very  intelligent  and  excellent  patronage. 
Most  of  its  former  opponents  are  now  its  advocates — some  its 
warmest  supporters.  These  schools  now  can  stand  upon  their  own 
recognized  and  admitted  merits.  I  predict  that  they  will  more 
than  justify  all  that  has  been  claimed  in  their  behalf. 

SUPERINTENDENT  WIDBER's  REPORTS. 

The  three  reports  of  Mr.  Widber,  1871,  '72,  '73,  were  models 
of  brevity,  containing  little  except  finance  and  statistics,  Deputy 
Snperintendent  Swett  in  his  reports  made  an  exhibit  of  the  re 
sults  of  the  cramming  system  as  shown  by  the  written  examin-X 
ations;  argued  against  state  uniformity  of  text  books;  advocated 
a  higher  rate  of  salaries  for  principals  of  Grammar  Schools; 
and  recommended  the  adoption  of  the  Grube  system  of  teaching 
Arithmetic  to  beginners. 

MR.  DENMAN'S  REPORTS. 

The  last  reports  of  Superintendent  Denman,  1874  and  1875, 
were  the  longest  of  the  city  reports.  The  report  of  1874  treated 
at  length  of  the  new  course  of  study. 

The  last  report  of  Superintendent  Denman,  1875,  recom 
mended  the  establishment  of  a  city  Normal  School,  and  treated 
at  length  of  the  course  of  study.  It  also  contained  a  valuable 
historical  sketch  of  schools  and  teachers. 

The  report  of  Deputy  Superintendent  Leggett  recommended 
the  abolishing  of  annual  written  examinations  for  promo 
tion;  favored  the  appointment  of  a  Board  of  Inspectors  and 
a  city  Normal  School;  criticized  the  methods  of  teaching  modern 
languages  in  the  Cosmopolitan  Schools,  and  recommended  a 
cutting  down  of  the  course  of  study  in  the  higher  grades.  The 
examination  questions,  iu  language  prepared  by  Mr.  Leggett, 
were  particularly  good. 

The  report  of  Deputy  Superintendent  Leggett,  on  exam 
inations  and  methods  of  teaching,  was  a  valuable  one.  The  fol 
lowing  extracts  illustrate  its  style : 

THE    ANNUAL    WRITTEN    EXAMINATION. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  how  hard  it  is  to  break  the  chain  in  which 
long  habit  binds  human  society,  or  to  get  out  of  the  groove  of  cus 
tom.  During  certain  stages  of  a  people's  progress  no  doubt  this 
principle  of  aversion  to  change  is  useful  and  necessary;  but  there  is 
also  a  time  (whether  we  have  yet  reached  it  or  not)  when  every 
practice  or  custom  must  make  good  its  claim  to  future  existence  or 
cease  to  be. 


I     J'i  u  K  \  li  Y 

UNIVERSITY    0} 

AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  75 

UAL1FOKNIA. 

Why  should  we  have  annual  examinations  at  all  ?  The  question 
startles  most  ears,  and  why  ?  Because  we  have  always  had  them  at 
the  close  of  the  school  year.  The  habit  of  holding  them  has  become 
venerable  from  antiquity,  and  I  know  I  shall  be  accused  of  sacri 
legious  interference  with  a  time-honored  custom  in  proposing  to  do 
away  with  them.  If  we  ask,  why  should  the  annual  examinations  be 
kept  up,  we  have  for  reply:  Because  we  have  always  had  them. 

If  we  ask,  why  should  they  be  abolished,  we  have  for  replies: 

First.  Because  they  are  not  needed. 

Second.  Because  they  are  expensive,  costing  the  department  at 
least  $20,000  a  year. 

Third.  Because  they  render  useless  the  school  work  of  the  last 
school  month  of  every  year,  and  foster  cramming  and  overwork 
during  that  time. 

Fourth.  Because  they  tend  to  produce  excitement  and  lead  to 
over-exertion  on  the  part  of  pupils  at  a  time  when  they  are  wearied 
by  the  work  of  the  whole  year. 

Fifth.  Because  if  they  were  abolished,  many  teachers  who,  under 
the  present  system  cannot  be  induced  to  abandon  the  practice  of 
cramming  for  the  examination,  because  they  are,  as  they  believe,  to 
be  judged  by  the  results  of  it,  could  be  induced  to  do  some  teach 
ing  in  their  classes. 

If  I  am  asked  how  pupils  could  be  promoted  without  these  exam 
inations,  I  answer,  Promote  them  at  any  time  of  the  year  when  their 
proficiency  and  the  classification  of  the  school  would  permit.  How  ? 
I  believe  it  would  be  best  to  do  it  on  examination  duly  made  by 
thoroughly  qualified  inspectors,  such  as  I  recommended  the  ap 
pointment  of  in  my  last  annual  report.  But  if  we  are  not  ready  for 
that,  then  on  the  examination  of  the  teacher,  the  principal  and  the 
superintendent  or  his  deputy.  There  is  no  one  season  of  the  year, 
so  far  as  my  observation  goes,  at  which  the  minds  of  children  ripen 
or  mature — no  particular  month  out  of  the  twelve  in  which  they 
become  fully  ripe  and  fit  for  the  harvest.  I  believe  the  monstrous 
attempt  to  put  children  of  widely  varying  physical  and  mental 
powers  through  the  same  mill  in  the  same  time,  has  worked  infinite 
and  irreparable  mischief  to  many  minds. 

THE  TEACHERS  OF  OUR  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

The  School  Department  employs  more  than  five  hundred  teachers 
at  the  present  time.  Most  of  them  are  ladies  and  gentlemen  well 
qualified  for  the  positions  which  they  hold.  They  are  zealous  and 
enthusiastic  in  their  work.  They  are  willing  and  anxious  to  do  all 
in  their  power  to  further  the  best  interests  of  the  children  committed 
to  their  care.  If  they  fail  to  do  all  that  we  could  wish  them  to  do, 
it  is  not  because  of  any  lack  of  desire  to  do  so.  It  is  disheartening 
to  any  such  body  of  men  and  women  to  be  treated  with  distrust  by 
those  who  employ  them,  and  I  trust  that  the  new  Board  of  Educa 
tion  will  extend  to  the  teachers  of  our  schools  all  the  kind  consider 
ation,  sympathy  and  aid  that  it  is  in  their  power  to  do.  Young- 
teachers  in  this  city  have  very  meagre  opportunities  for  improvement 
in  the  art  of  teaching.  We  have  no  Normal  School.  We  have  no  U 
teachers'  institute,  or  associations.  During  the  period  of  my  coil- 


76  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

nection  with  the  department  there  has  not  been  a  single  lecture  on 
the  science  of  education,  or  the  art  of  teaching,  delivered  to  the 
teachers  of  this  city  and  county.  If,  therefore,  some  of  our  teachers 
are  behind  the  times,  if  the  ardor  of  others  has  slackened,  if  the 
professional  pride  of  all  has  declined  a  little,  is  it  much  to  be 
wondered  at?  I  believe  a  revival  of  educational  interest  is  needed  in  * 
our  city,  and  if  the  Board  of  Education  can  do  something  to  bring 
about  so  desirable  a  result,  they  will  by  so  doing  reflect  credit  on 
themselves,  and  confer  a  benefit  upon  the  schools  under  their 
charge. 

A    CITY    NOKMAL    SCHOOL. 

In  my  last  annual  report  I  tried  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Board  of 
Education  to  the  necessity  of  having  a  Normal  School  established  for 
the  training  of  teachers.  Up  to  the  present  time,  however,  members  of 
the  board  have  been  unable  to  see  the  matter  in  the  same  light  that 
I  do.  I  think  it  is  a  disgrace  to  our  city  that  we  have  no  school  ^ 
within  her  limits  for  preparing  young  men  and  women,  who  wish  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  profession  of  teaching,  for  their  work.  I 
venture  to  say  that  there  is  not  on  the  American  continent  to-day,  a 
city  of  250,000  inhabitants  where  some  sort  of  a  Normal  School  has 
not  been  established.  I  know  that  as  we  are  now  situated  every 
dollar  expended  for  the  support  of  a  really  good  Normal  School 
would  repay  the  city  tenfold  in  the  greater  efficiency  of  the  teachers 
who  would  be  trained  in  it.  Every  person  who  has  a  particle  of 
educational  sense,  must  see  that  for  lack  of  Normal  School  instruc 
tion  the  department  is  losing  every  year  ten  times  as  much  as  it 
would  cost  to  sustain  a  good  Normal  School  in  our  city. 

The  State  Normal  School  at  San  Jose  is,  under  its  present  able 
management,  doing  a  noble  work  for  the  cause  of  education  in  Cal 
ifornia.  But  we  need  a  school  of  our  own  in  this  city  for  the  special 
training  of  teachers  for  our  graded  schools.  I  do  not  think  that  the 
Normal  School  ought  to  be  conducted  in  the  High  School,  nor 
taught  in  connection  therewith.  I  think  it  would  be  better  to  have 
it  in  some  school  in  which  all  the  grades  are  taught.  In  that  case 
the  teacher  of  the  Normal  Class  could  take  the  teachers  in  training 
into  the  classes  of  the  different  grades  and  there  show  them  how  to 
teach  practically,  by  taking  charge  of  the  class  himself  and  showing 
his  pupils  how  to  apply  the  best  methods  of  instruction.  If  candi 
dates  for  the  positions'of  teachers  in  the  public  schools  were  well 
trained  in  such  a  school,  we  should  have  much  more  teaching  and 
much  less  experimenting  done  in  a  large  number  of  our  classes. 

TOO    MANY    PUPILS    ASSIGNED    TO    A    TEACHER. 

I  have  no  reason  to  change  or  modify  my  views  on  this  subject 
during  the  past  year.     I  would  reiterate  my  opinion,  as  expressed     , 
in  my  last  report,  that  not  more  than  forty  grammar  pupils,  nor 
more  than  fifty  primary  pupils,  ought  to  be  assigned  to  any  one 
teacher. 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  77 


2.  MISCELLANEOUS   HISTORICAL  ITEMS. 

1.  Buildings. — The  schools  were  held  in  rented  rooms  up  to 
1854,  when  a  building  on  the  corner  of  Bush  and  Stockton  streets 
was  erected  for  the  Denman  School;  a  large  brick  building  for 
the  Union  Street  School;  and  a  spacious  house  at  North  Beach 
for  the  Powell  Street  School.     This  last  building  was  soon  after 
ward  turned  into  a  City  Hospital,  because  it  could  not  be  filled 
wjth  pupils. 

The  first  schoolhouses  were  arranged  on  the  New  York  City 
plan  of  large  session-rooms  and  small  recitation-rooms.  Since 
1857,  the  buildings  have  been  arranged  on  the  Boston  plan — a 
separate  room  for  each  class  of  50  pupils. 

2.  Grading. — The  schools  were  originally  classified  into  Pri 
mary,  Intermediate,  and  Grammar  Departments,  but  were  not 
regularly  graded  on  the  present  plan  until  late  in  1857. 

The  first  printed  " course  of  study"  was  adopted  June  10, 
1857,  Mr.  Pelton,  Superintendent,  and  William  Sherman,  Pres 
ident  of  the  Board.  The  High  School  was  organized  in  1856, 
mainly  through  the  efforts  of  William  Sherman,  the  President 
of  the  Board. 

3.  Salaries. — The  salary  paid  Principals  in  1852  and  1853  was 
$150  a  month,  exclusive  of  Vacations;  that  is,  $1500  a  year.    In 
1854,  the  salary  was  increased  to  $2000  a  year;  but  this  was 
paid  in  city  scrip,  worth  from   60  to   70  cents  on   the  dollar. 
From  1854  to  1872,  the  salaries  varied  from  $1900  to  $2100,  but 
in  1873  were  raised  to  $2400. 

The  salaries  of  the  High  School  Principals  varied  from  $2300 
to  $2500  and  $3000,  until  1874,  when  the  salary  of  the  Principal 
of  the  Boys'  High  School  was  made  $4000. 

4.  Certificates. — Until  1863,  teachers  were  annually  examined, 
to  test  their  "fitness  to  teach  a  common  school  one  year,"  and  the 
pioneer  teachers,  such  as  Denman,  the  Holmeses,  Swett,  Pelton, 
and  others,  were  passed  through  the  "examination-mill"  a  dozen 
times.     The  system  afforded  a  fine  opportunity  for  petty  officials 
to  browbeat  schoolmasters  and  schoolma'ams. 

5.  Annual  Elections. — From  1850  to  1870,  at  the  end  of  each 
year,  all  positions  were  declared  vacant,  and  there  was  a  general 
scramble  for  a  "new  deal."     Occasionally  there  was  the  war- 
cry:  "To  the  victors  belong  the  spoils." 


78  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

If  a  "Director"  had  a  spite  against  some  unfortunate  peda 
gogue,  vengeance  descended  when  the  Board  went  into  star- 
chamber  sessions  for  the  "  Annual  Election  of  Teachers." 

The  doors  of  the  star-chamber  were  besieged  until  midnight 
by  anxious  teachers,  waiting  to  know  their  fate. 

This  senseless  annual  insult  to  a  whole  body  of  teachers 
originated  in  the  New  England  District  Schools,  when  they  were 
kept  but  a  part  of  the  year,  and  when,  of  course,  a  new  teacher 
had  to  be  elected  annually.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  has 
been  handed  down  from  father  to  son  as  a  precious  heirloom, 
and  is  still  the  law  of  nearly  every  city,  town,  and  district  in  the 
United  States, — San  Francisco  excepted. 

A   NEW    DEPAETURE. 

In  1870,  the  Board,  H.  A.  Cobb,  President,  decided  to  abol 
ish  annual  elections,  and  elect  teachers  "during  good  behavior." 
This  measure  was  vigorously  supported  by  most  of  the  city 
press,  but  was  as  vigorously  opposed  by  the  Superintendent 
and  a  minority  of  the  Board,  who  tenaciously  "held  on  to  the 
good  old  way." 

6.  Examinations  of  Schools. — Up  to  1862,  the  pupils  in  Gram 
mar  and  Primary  Schools  were  promoted  by  the  principals  and 
teachers  on  the  records  of  the  scholars'  work  during  the  year. 
Public  examinations  were  conducted  orally  at  the  end  of  the 
year. 

In  1863,  the  promotion  by  means  of  written  examinations  and 
percentages  was  introduced  as  a  system.  The  result  was,  that 
in  a  few  years,  the  main  efforts  of  teachers  were  directed  to 
cramming  for  examination.  Pupils  were  made  writing-machines. 
In  1874  and  1875,  even  the  lowest  grade  primary  classes  were 
examined  in  writing.  The  evil  culminated  in  a  reaction,  and  in 
1876  a  committee  of  principals,  with  Superintendent  Bolander, 
requested  the  Committee  of  Classification,  Mr.  Tait,  Chairman, 
to  abolish  the  cast-iron  system,  and  allow  principals  to  classify 
their  schools.  The  permission  asked  for  was  granted,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  the  cramming  system  will  never  be  restored. 

7.  Secular  Schools. — From  1851  to  1854,  it  was  customary  in 
many  schools  to  open  the  exercises  with  prayer  and  the  reading 
of  a  passage  from  the  Bible  by  the  teacher.    This  was  authorized 
by  one  of  the  earliest  school  regulations.    The  question  formed 
a  bone  of  contention  for  several  years,  but  by  common  consent 


u  a 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.     {  "  I  L 

>^ 

most  of  the  teachers,  after  1856,  discontinued  the  reading  of  the 
Bible  and  prayer.  The  tendency  of  public  opinion  was  toward 
purely  secular  schools.  In  his  State  Eeports,  Superintendent 
Swett  advocated  purely  secular  schools. 

In  1874,  for  the  first  time,  an  official  resolution  in  favor  of 
purely  secular  education  appears  on  record.  The  President  of 
the  Board,  Andrew  McF.  Davis,  ruled  that  the  repeating  of  the,, 
Lord's  Prayer  was  sectarian,  and  in  violation  of  the  school  law. 
This  decision  was  sustained  by  the  Board.  Public  opinion,  in 
most  parts  of  the  State,  is  in  accordance  with  this  decision. 

8.  Politics  and  Schools.  —  Though  nominated  and  elected  by 
political  parties,  the  Boards  of  Education  have  not  been,  in 
general,  marked  by  partisan  action.     From  1856  to  1867,  a  ma 
jority  of  the  members  of  each  Board  was  elected  on  the  "  Peo 
ple's  Party  Ticket."     From   1868   to   1876,  there  has  been  a 
preponderance  of  members  elected  on  the  Democratic  Ticket. 
Superintendent  Theller  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  Ticket; 
Mr.  Pelton  was  twice,  and  Superintendent  Denman  three  times 
elected  by  the  Democratic  party.    All  the  other  Superintendents 
were    elected    on   the    "  People's    Party"   or    the   Republican 
Ticket.     Under  the  "Know-Nothing"  regime,  in  1855,  a  few 
teachers  were  removed  on  account  of  "accent."     During  the 
war,  two  or  three  "secession"  teachers  were  dropped;  but,  in 
general,  while  both  political  and  religious  influences  have,  to 
some  extent,  influenced  the  election  of  teachers,  very  few  have 
been  proscribed  on  account  of  either  politics  or  religion.    Prot 
estants,  Catholics,  Israelites,  Democrats  and  Kepublicans,  work 
harmoniously  together   in  teaching  children  of   all  shades  of 
religious  belief  and  political  opinion. 

9.  Music  and  Drawing.  —  From   the   beginning,    music   and 
drawing,    to   the   extent  of  a  smattering,    were    taught  in  the 
schools.      In    1859,    Hubert    Burgess   was   appointed   special 
teacher  of  drawing,  and  Mr.  F.  K.  Mitchell,  teacher  of  music. 
In  1868,  Washington  Elliott  succeeded  Mr.  Mitchell  as  music 
teacher.     In    1871,    Mason's  Music  Readers  and    Charts  were 
adopted,  with  a  specific  course  in  the  Manual.     Real  instruc 
tion  in  vocal  music  dates  from  this  period.     In  1874,  Smith's 
System  of  Drawing  was  introduced,  making  the  beginning  of 
systematic  instruction  in  this  branch. 

10.  Changes  in  Text-Books.  —  The  changes  in  text-books,  from 


80  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

1851  to  1876,  twenty-five  years,  may  be  briefly  summed  up  as 
follows: 

Headers:  Swan's,  Towne's,  Sargent's,  Willson's,  McGuffey's. 
Average  time  of  use,  five  years. 

Arithmetics:  Thompson's,  Colburn's,  Eobinson's;  the  last  from 
1865  to  1876.  Average  time  of  use,  eight  years. 

Grammars:  Tower's,  Weld's,  Greene's,  Kerl's,  Brown's.  Av 
erage  time,  five  years. 

Geographies:  Mitchell's,  Cornell's,  Guyot's,  Clarke's,  Mon- 
teith's.  Average  time,  five  years. 

Spellers:  Towne's,  Sargent's,  Willson's. 

United  States  History:  Parley's,  Goodrich's,  Lossing's,  Ander 
son's,  Swinton's.  Average  time,  five  years. 

11.  Co-Education. — Up  to  1864,  the  boys  and  girls  were  edu 
cated  together.     When  the  Denman  Grammar  School  building 
was  completed,  only  girls  were  admitted;  the  Lincoln  was  made 
a  boys'  school,  and  the  Rincon  a  girls'  school.     In  1868  tfye 
Union  and  the  Washington  were  made  boys'  schools,  and  the 
Broadway  a  girls'  school.     The  Boys'  High  and  the  Girls'  High 
were  formed  from  the  Boys'  and  Girls'  High  School  in  1864. 
With  these  exceptions  all  the  other  schools  have  always  been 
attended  by  both  sexes. 

12.  Teachers'  Associations  and  Evening  Normal  Schools. — In 
1853  the  Principals  formed  a  monthly  association  for  the  discus 
sion  of  school  questions.     This  continued  until  1857,  when  a 
weekly  Normal  School  was  established  by  the  Board  of  Educa 
tion.     Attendance  was  made  compulsory.     The  school  was  held 
at  first  on  Saturdays;  afterwards,  on  Monday  evenings.     George 
W.  Minns,  John  Swett,  Ellis  H.  Holmes,  and  Thomas  S.  My- 
rick,  were  elected  teachers.     This  school  continued  until  1862. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  graduates  of  what  is  known  as 
the  * ( Minns  Evening  Normal  School :" 


Miss  Ellen  Casey, 
'      M.  A.  Casebolt, 
'      Alice  Baker, 
'      L.  E.  Field, 
'      Eliza  Hawklmrst, 
'      Kate  Kennedy, 


GKADUATES  OF  1861. 

Miss  Lizzie  Kennedy, 
A.  B.  Kimball, 
M.  A.  Wills, 

C.  L.  Hunt, 

D.  S.  Prescott, 
M.  L.  Tracy, 


Miss  M.  D.  Lynde, 

"     Hannah  Marks, 
"     Beatrice  Weed, 
Mrs.  A.  E.  Du  Bois. 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS. 


81 


Miss  A.  S.  Barnard, 
C.  V.  Benjamin, 
Anna  Child, 
C.  A.  Coffin, 
L.  H.  Crocker, 
H.  B.  Gushing, 
E.  P.  Fern  aid, 
E.  S.  Griffin, 
H.  A.  Haneke, 
H.  H.  Heagan, 
Anna  Hill, 
M.  A.  Humphreys, 
'     L.  A.  Humphreys, 


GEADFATES  or  1862. 

Miss  Lizzie  Macy, 
W.  L.  Morgan, 
A.  S.  Moses, 
H.  E.  Porter, 
Geraldine  Price, 
M.  E.  Scotchler, 
A.  A.  JRowe, 
E.  K.  Shaw, 
M.  E.  Stowell, 
P.  M.  Stowell, 
Helen  Thompson, 
E.  M.  Tiebout, 
M.  K.  Warren, 


Miss  M.  C.  White, 
S.  J.  White, 
L.  A.Humphreys, 
S.  M.  Hunt, 
Annie  Lawrence, 

Mis.  E.  C.  Burt, 

E.  S.  Forrester, 
L.  A.  Morgan, 
M.  S.  P.  Nichols, 
H.  E.  Packer, 
C.  H.  Stout, 
S.  A.  D.  Lansingh. 


The  "Minns  Normal  School "  was  succeeded  for  several  years 
by  monthly  meetings  of  teachers  under  the  direction  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  but  these  died  out  in  1869. 

In  1872  the  Board  established  another  Evening  Normal 
School,  which  was  continued  two  years,  with  the  following 
corps  of  teachers:  Principal,  John  Swett;  Assistants,  Joseph 
Leggett,  Mrs.  Mary  "W.  Kincaid,  and  Theodore  Bradley. 
Since  1873  there  have  been  no  teachers'  meetings,  associations, 
or  normal  schools. 

13.  Educational  Hobbies. — In  early  times  Colburn's  Mental 
Arithmetic  was  a  favorite  hobby,  and  for  many  years  afterward 
arithmetic  was  the  leading  branch  of  study  to  which  more  than 
half  the  school-time  of  pupils  was  devoted.  In  some  cases,  four 
hours  out  of  the  five  were  devoted  to  the  favorite  hobby  of  the  old- 
time  schoolmaster.  Of  late  years,  about  one-fourth  of  the  time 
is  given  to  this  study. 

The  epidemic  of  self -reporting  prevailed  from  1859  to  1862. 
"  Map  drawing  "  was  fashionable  from  1860  to  1871. 

In  1868-70  education  consisted  mainly  of  "  oral  instruction." 

In  early  times  "exhibitions,"  "May  festivals,"  and  "danc 
ing  parties"  were  in  fashion.  "  Calisthenics  and  gymnastics  " 
prevailed  from  1856  to  1860. 

"  Written  Examinations "  and  "Percentages"  were  the  rage 
from  1863  to  1875;  they  went  out  of  style  during  the  Centennial 
year. 

"Phonography,"  in  the  higher  grammar  grades,  was  the 
hobby  of  1872  and  1873,  but  was  ridden  to  death  in  1874. 

"  Mark's  Geometry,"  for  the  3d  and  4th  grammar  grades,  was 
the  experiment  in  1869  and  1870;  it  failed  in  1871. 

"  Cosmopolitan  Schools"  became  the  rage  in  1872  and  1873; 


82  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

there  was  a  reaction  in  1874,  when  French  and  German  were 
abolished  during  a  revolutionary  period  of  four  months.  The 
"restoration"  soon  followed  by  act  of  the  Legislature. 

The  twin  hobbies,  with  Boards  of  Education  from  1854  to 
1864,  were  the  annual  examination  of  teachers  and  the  an 
nual  elections.  Indeed,  "  annual  elections,"  like  bull  rights, 
were  in  vogue  until  1870.  "  Investigations  "  raged  in  1872  and 
1873,  while  the  favorite  hobby  of  the  Board  of  1874  and  1875 
was  "rules  and  regulations." 

14.  Merits  and  Defects. — The  marked  merits  of  the  city  schools 
are: 

1.  Convenient  buildings. 

2.  Good  discipline. 

3.  In  general,  hard-working  teachers. 

4.  Good  instruction  in  Music  and  Drawing. 

5.  The  purely  secular  character  of  the  schools. 
The  marked  defects  are : 

1.  Too  many  pupils  per  teacher. 

2.  Too  rigid  classification. 

3.  Too  much  cramming  of  text-books. 

4.  Too  many  lessons  for  home  study. 

5.  A  complicated  system  of  daily  recitation  records  and 

monthly  reports. 

6.  A  lack  of  professionally  trained  teachers. 

7.  The  lack  of  a  City  Normal  School. 

8.  A  lack  of  thorough  inspection. 

9.  Short  terms  of  office  of  Superintendent  and  School 

Directors. 

15.  Address  of  President  Davis. — The  address  of  the  President 
of  the  Board,  Andrew  McF.  Davis,  Nov.  14,  1875,  sets  forth  in 
detail  some  of  the  marked  features  of  the  city  system.     The 
following  are  extracts : 

It  is  fitting  and  proper  that  I  should  avail  myself  of  this  oppor 
tunity  to  say  to  this  audience  a  few  words  concerning  what  this 
Board,  whose  term  of  office  is  so -nearly  closed,  has  done,  and  also 
relative  to  the  graded  system  upon  which  the  schools  of  the  Depart 
ment  are  organized. 

Under  the  customs  which  at  present  prevail,  no  report  is  made 
by  the  Board  to  the  people.  The  only  published  report  concerning 
the  affairs  of  the  Department  which  reaches  the  public  is  the  report 
of  the  Superintendent.  That  officer  being  elected  directly  by  the 
people,  arid  being  only  in  a  measure  responsible  to  the  Board,  and 
no  report  being  submitted  in  published  form  by  the  Board,  or  its 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  83 

Committees,  I  shall  offer  no  apology  for  taking  advantage  of  this 
occasion  to  say  a  few  words  which,  under  a  different  organization  of 
affairs,  I  should  have  preferred  to  present  elsewhere. 

The  objects  and  purposes  of  this  school,  as  originally  organized, 
were  substantially  what  they  are  to-day.  The  means  at  hand  to 
reach  these  objects  and  effect  these  purposes  have  largely  increased, 
and  the  school  to-day  has  before  it  an  enlarged  field  of  usefulness, 
the  circle  of  which  not  only  expands  with  the  increase  of  the  popu 
lation  of  the  State  and  City,  but  the  cultivation  of  which  is  vastly 
aided  by  the  generous  sympathies  of  the  public. 

The  necessity  of  the  school  is  to  supplement  the  graded  system 
of  teaching  which  prevails  in  the  lower  divisions  of  the  Department. 
To  accomplish  this,  the  course  of  study  in  the  school  itself  must  be 
elastic  enough  to  aid  and  encourage  in  their  labors: 

I.  Those  who  have  successfully  passed  through  the  Grammar 
grades  and  wish  to  pursue  a  higher  course  of  study,  whether  scien 
tific,  literary,  or  classical. 

II.  Those  who  have  passed  through  the  Grammar  grades  success 
fully,  and  wish  to  round  off  their  education  in  a  shorter  period  ;  to 
gather  in  and  appropriate  what  they  can,  but  who  are  especially  de 
sirous  of  pursuing  with  diligence  for  a  short  space  of  time  certain 
scientific  or  mathematical  studies. 

III.  Those  whose  education  has  been  acquired  outside  of  our  city 
schools,  and  whose  percentages  may  show  a  decided  falling  off  in 
some  of  the  studies,  and  an  unusual  prominence  in  others. 

And  finally,  those  who,  from  some  constitutional  incapacity,  are 
unable  to  pursue  with  success  certain  studies  beyond  fixed  points, 
but  who  are  able  to  reach  a  certain  grade,  yet  cannot  get  beyond  it, 
if  the  inexorable  law  of  percentages  is  rigidly  applied. 

For  all  of  these,  and  perhaps  for  others,  must  a  place  be  found 
in  this  school. 

Because  a  young  man,  with  a  copious  diction  and  a  delicate 
literary  taste,  can  only  achieve  the  pons  asinorum  by  memorizing 
the  demonstration,  shall  we  keep  him  lagging  behind  the  army  in 
its  advance,  or  shall  we  try  him  now  in  this  place,  now  in  that, 
until  we  find  the  place  where  he  can  do  the  best  work  and  where  we 
can  work  him  to  the  best  advantage  ? 

Because  the  graded  system  demands  a  certain  percentage  for  pro 
motion,  shall  we  keep  a  pupil,  year  after  year,  in  the  first  grade  of 
the  Grammar  department,  who  from  some  mental  deficiency  is  held 
back  from  promotion  by  absolute  failure  in  some  especial  study? 
Is  it  not  better  to  recognize  this  as  one  of  the  defects  of  a  system, 
excellent  in  some  respects,  which  is  to  be  supplemented  as  far  as 
may  be  by  this  school  ? 

In  order  to  realize  what  the  defects  are  that  need  to  be  supple 
mented,  it  is  essential  to  look  at  the  organization  of  our  schools  and 
observe  of  what  different  materials  they  are  composed.  We  see, 
side  by  side,  the  children  of  professional  men,  merchants  and  la 
borers ;  children  whose  every  step  is  carefully  watched,  and  those 
whose  normal  condition  is  absolute  freedom  from  restraint ;  we  see 
the  rude  and  the  polished;  black  and  white;  rich  and  poor;  all  pat 
ronizing  our  schools. 


84  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

For  these  children,  reared  under  such  different  conditions,  enjoy 
ing  such  varied  advantages,  disciplined  to  such  different  degrees  of 
obedience,  is  provided  a  curriculum,  rigid,  inelastic,  and  uncon 
scious  of  any  difference  in  the  characters,  the  ..surroundiDgs,  or  the 
opportunities  of  the  pupils. 

At  the  age  of  six  years,  says  the  law,  you  may  send  your  child  to 
the  public  school,  and,  continues  our  course  of  study,  whatever  his 
condition  of  discipline  may  then  be,  he  shall  pursue  the  following 
studies,  such  and  such  quantities  to  be  given  in  stated  periods  and 
in  definite  ways.  At  the  age  of  six,  then,  the  pupils  are  launched 
upon  the  course  of  study.  But  how  different  are  their  opportuni 
ties!  While  at  home,  whether  at  meals  or  at  play,  the  one  child  is 
under  the  care  of  educated  and  refined  parents,  who  maintain  a  con 
stant  supervising  influence  over  their  offspring;  who  do  not  neglect 
discipline  in  mistaken  kindness,  and  who  accomplish  far  more  in 
the  process  of  leading  forward  the  child  than  can  be  possible  for 
any  teacher  in  the  lower  grades. 

Side  by  side  with  his  little  playmate  another  has  to  struggle  along 
the  path  alone.  His  parents  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their 
brows.  There  is  no  time  to  waste  on  refinement  or  cultivation. 
Here  the  case  is  reversed.  The  teacher  is  all  in  all,  and  much  more^ 
is  accomplished  at  school  than  at  home  in  the  process  of  unfolding 
the  mental  faculties  and  developing  the  intellectual  growth. 

Suppose  that  these  two  children  are  of  equal  mental  calibre,  will 
their  growth  be  the  same  under  the  graded  system  ?  If  not,  what 
provision  is  there  for  such  vast,  such  inevitable  discrepancies?  For, 
in  this  comparison,  I  have  not  drawn  the  strongest  possible,  nor 
even  the  strongest  probable  contrast.  The  law  of  "hereditary  ten 
dency"  would  assert,  as  probable,  that  the  child  of  professional  or 
literary  parents  would  have  stronger  natural  tastes  for  literary  pur 
suits  than  the  child  of  the  laborer.  So  that  the  natural  tendency 
would  be  to  make  the  contrast  even  more  striking. 

How  in  the  world  can  such  grave  obstacles  to  the  adjustment  of 
the  graded  system  be  overcome  ?  How  can  any  rigid  s}7stem  be 
made  to  fit  such  a  variety  of  minds,  from  the  most  brilliant  to  the 
positively  stupid  ?  How  can  the  same  nourishment,  in  quality  and 
quantity,  sustain  the  giant  and  the  pigmy  ?  These  questions  seemed 
to  me,  when  I  entered  upon  my  duties  as  a  School  Director,  inca 
pable  of  answer. 

I  have  found  a  partial  explanation  of  the  matter  in  this,  that  in 
many  schools  the  promotions  are  so  made  that  the  bright  and  for 
ward  scholars  do  two  years'  work  in  one — actually  accomplishing 
this  work  with  ease.  In  other  words,  the  course  of  study,  as  at 
present  arranged,  being  adapted  as  near  as  may  be  to  the  best  in 
terests  of  the  average  intellect  under  average  conditions  favorable 
for  its  development,  must  necessarily  fall  below  the  capacity  of  a 
large  number  of  the  scholars.  To  keep  these  busy,  they  must  either 
do  two  years'  work  in  one,  which  is  accomplished  by  promotions  at 
the  end  of  the  first  six  months  (making  advance  work  of  what  is  re 
view  to  a  portion  of  the  grade),  or  some  other  means  must  be  devised 
to  keep  their  minds  active  during  school  hours. 

This  forcing  pupils  over  two  years'  work  in  one,  is  the  only  source 
of  relief  from  the  rigid  demands  of  the  Manual  which  I  have  discov- 


AND   SCHOOL  REPORTS.  85 

ered.  It  is  not,  of  course,  capable  of  extensive  application,  and  the 
generally  inelastic  nature  of  the  work  in  the  lower  departments  re 
mains  to  be  supplemented,  and  as  far  as  possible  compensated  for 
here.  We  have  sought  to  provide  for  this  by  furnishing  various 
parallel  branches  of  study  in  this  school,  and  it  is  my  hope  that  the 
chevaux  de  frise  of  percentages  which  bristle  upon  every  avenue  of  / 
approach  to  this  stronghold  of  learning  may  be  to  some  extent  re-  / 
moved,  and  a  more  liberal  view  taken  of  what  the  school  is  for.  It 
is  true  that  not  every  horse  can  be  trained  to  be  a  race  horse;  but 
it  is  none  the  less  true  that  we  like  to  see  our  coach  horses  well 
groomed. 

The  question  has  been  discussed  in  public,  "What  shall  we  do 
with  our  boys?"  Orators,  lawyers  and  editors  have  addressed  audi 
ences  upon  this  topic.  It  interests  all  classes,  and  we,  who  are 
connected  with  educational  matters,  are  brought  closely  in  contact 
with  it. 

Let  those  gentlemen  who  have  propounded  that  question  cast 
their  eyes  over  this  audience,  and  we  will  show  them  what  we  are 
doing  with  our  boys  at  this  end  of  the  line.  But  alas  !  the  fruit 
that  we  see  ripening  here  to-day  is  but  a  small  percentage  of  that 
which  was  set  in  the  primary  school,  and  they  might  still  say  this 
does  not  answer  our  question. 

May  I  be  pardoned  at  this  time,  and  in  this  connection,  if  I  throw 
out  a  hint  of  what  I  believe  will  help  to  solve  this  question  in  the 
future.  The  subject  is  closely  connected  with  what  has  gone  be 
fore,  and  perhaps  these  words  may  fall  upon  willing  ears. 

I  have  alluded  to  the  different  planes  upon  which  pupils  of  the 
same  age  stand  in  the  graded  system,  and  the  different  results  that 
must  follow  from  precisely  the  same  instruction.  Apart  from  all 
questions  of  intellectual  culture,  the  habits  of  discipline  and  obedi 
ence  acquired  by  a  child  reared  in  a  well-ordered  family  are  probably 
of  more  value  than  any  other  development.  The  receptivity  of  a 
child  who  has  been  taught  to  move,  or  to  stop  when  spoken  to,  must 
be  far  greater  than  that  of  one  whose  life  has  been  spent  in  throwing 
stones  at  Chinamen,  and  building  bonfires  in  the  streets. 

The  generous  nature  of  the  climate  here  is  such  that  the  child  of 
a  family  too  poor  to  maintain  constant  supervision  over  it,  is  turned 
adrift  upon  the  streets  to  charge  about,  committing  those  minor 
offenses — promises,  and  almost  certain  forerunners  of  serious  diffi 
culty  one  of  these  days. 

Experience  has  established,  and  the  law  has  defined,  the  proper 
minimum  age  for  beginning  our  regular  studies  in  the  poblic  schools 
to  be  six  years,  and  we  all  know  that  practically  this  is  young 
enough  according  to  our  present  methods. 

But  modern  German  thought  has  developed  a  system  of  amusing 
children  which  at  the  same  time  prepares  their  minds  for  future 
training,  and  enables  parents  to  avail  themselves  of  the  system  while 
their  children  are  still  very  young. 

If  it  were  possible  to  erect  a  few  buildings  around  the  city,  in 
those  portions  where  the  very  young  abound  so  thickly,  and  gather 
in  the  little  children  between  the  ages  of  three  and  six  years,  for  live 
or  six  hours  daily,  during  which  time  they  should  be  amused  'and 
interested;  thus  removing  them  from  the  dangers  and  temptations 


86  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

of  the  streets;  comforting  their  mothers  with  the  knowledge  of  their 
safety;  teaching  them  little  or  nothing  except  methods  of  thought; 
I  say,  if  one,  two  or  three  such  schools  could  be  tried,  something 
could  be  done  for  the  boy  of  twelve  or  fifteen  years  hence.  From 
the  Kindergarten  these  boys  would  enter  the  Primary  School  upon 
a  par  with  the  boys  with  whom  I  have  heretofore  placed  them  in 
contrast;  with  habits  of  obedience  and  methods  of  thought  already 
acquired.  Truancy,  that  terror  of  principals,  would  be  reduced,  for 
school  by  this  system  is  a  synonym  for  pleasure.  The  little  fellows 
look  forward  with  delight  to  the  hours  to  be  spent  there,  and  leave 
for  home  with  regret.  The  wild  charms  of  a  nomadic  life,  the  com 
forts  of  a  night  in  a  dry-goods  box  or  a  sugar  hogshead — all  these 
can  and  would  be  dispelled  by  continuous  kindTy  effort.  The  hold 
that  this  wild,  irresponsible  sort  of  life  has  upon  the  unkempt 
natures  of  these  little  fellows  is  almost  incomprehensible,  and  the 
necessity  for  capturing  them  while  young — very  young — and  mold- 
ing  them  to  conform  more  nearly  to  some  recognized  social  type,  is 
evident  to  the  reflective  mind.  Further,  our  knowledge  of  our  pupils 
and  their  ways  of  life  would  begin  earlier,  and  we  should  know 
better  what  it  was  essential  to  do  to  aid  them  in  the  rugged  pathways 
of  life. 

These,  then,  are  the  lessons  which  my  two  years'  service  in  the 
department  have  taught  me : 

I.  The  great  evil  of  our  system  is  its  inelasticity. 

II.  The  remedies  which  can  be  applied  are:  The  Kindergarten  at 
one  end  of  the  course;  judicious  promotions  of  exceptionally  bright 
pupils  during  the  course;  and  a  liberal  opening  up  of  the  opportu 
nities  of  the  High  School  at  the  other  end. 

I  entertain  the  hope  that  the  experiment  of  the  Kindergarten  or 
some  kindred  school  may  be  tried  at  an  early  date.  Properly  man 
aged  it  cannot  fail.  I  urge  it  not  so  much  for  its  direct  educational 
result  (though  the  experiment  elsewhere  has  proved  a  success)  as 
for  the  hold  it  will  give  upon  the  good- will  and  affections  of  these 
nomad  children,  whose  lives  are  otherwise  destined  to  be  lost  in  the 
streets.  By  this  means  they  can  be  gathered  in.  They  can  be  kept 
out  of  mischief  and  they  can  be  taught,  without  knowing  it,  what 
obedience  is.  They  can  be  prepared  for  the  primary  work,  and  the 
tares  of  truancy  can  be  weeded  out  of  their  desires.  This  work  fairly 
inaugurated,  the  effects  upon  the  inelastic  graded  system  could  not 
fail  to  be  realized. 

As  to  the  work  in  the  High  Schools,  I  feel  sure  that  all  here  will 
give  the  present  Board  of  Education  credit  for  having  labored  with 
great  unanimity  to  improve  it,  and  will  join  with  me  in  congratu 
lating  the  teachers  and  the  boys  upon  the  mutual  good-will  which 
seems  to  pervade  this  school. 

I  have  before  stated  the  purposes  of  the  school.  "We  have  shaped 
our  course  of  study  to  meet  these  purposes.  In  this  form  we  shall 
hand  it  over  to  our  successors,  our  term  of  office  having  nearly 
expired.  Its  future  rests  in  their  hands. 

Among  the  problems  which  they  will  have  to  solve  will  "be  the 
various  questions  as  to  what  shall  entitle  a  person  to  admission,  and 
what  shall  be  required  of  students  after  admission.  In  our  action  we 
have  recognized  certain  general  principles. 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  87 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  ignore  the  fact  that  after  passing  beyond 
the  Grammar  grades,  any  course  of  study  which  treads  beyond  cer 
tain  limits  must  overtake  and  lie  parallel  with  that  of  the  University. 
A  due  regard  for  economy  will  not  permit  us  to  retain  here,  at  a 
great  expense,  a  school  simply  to  traverse  ground,  which  can  be 
gained  by  crossing  the  Bay,  with  little  inconvenience  to  the  student 
and  with  no  expense  to  the  city.  Apart  from  questions  of  economy 
we  have  earnestly  labored  to  maintain  harmonious  relations  with 
the  officers  of  the  University,  and  have  sought  to  shape  our  school 
so  that  it  should  prove  a  feeder  and  not  a  rival. 

At  the  same  time  we  have  endeavored  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of 
usefulness  of  the  school  to  its  greatest  possible  dimensions.  It  be 
longs  to  the  public.  It  has  been  carefully  provided  for,  and  its 
dispensations  should  be  made  in  a  liberal  spirit  and  with  a  liberal 
hand. 

Many  questions  relating  to  young  men,  peculiarly  situated,  who, 
under  the  rules  cannot  derive  any  benefit  from  the  school,  but  who 
are  worthy  of  our  aid  and  sympathy,  will  constantly  arise.  No  rule 
can  be  laid  down  that  will  govern  all  such  cases.  The  only  thing  to 
do  is  to  determine  each  case  on  its  merits. 

What  I  have  said  of  this  school  will  generally  apply  to  the  Girls' 
High  School.     We  have  endeavored  to  make  the  course  of  study 
there  more  elastic  than  it  was.     The  elements  with  which  we  have 
to  deal  there,  differ  largely  from  those  composing  this  school.     A 
majority  of  the  pupils  desire  to  become  teachers,  and  are  anxious  to 
pursue  a  special  course  of  study  which  shall  fit  them  for  that  pur-  v 
pose.     It  is  not  improbable  that  the  pressiire  in  that  direction  will    / 
at  an  early  day  lead  to  the  foundation  of  a  City  Normal  School.    In 
that  case,  what  will  become  of  the  remnant  of  the  school  which  will 
be  left  ? 

When  the  school  was  founded  the  sexes  were  together,  and  I  see 
no  objection  to  an  opportunity  being  afforded  them  to  pursue  their 
studies  together  now. 

I  believe  this  to  be  the  only  true  policy  to  pursue  with  reference 
to  the  higher  schools.  As  far  as  is  practicable,  give  your  principals' 
swing  and  hold  them  accountable  for  results.  If  they  fail,  depose 
them,  but  do  not  meddle  with  them  any  more  than  can  be  helped 
while  they  are  on  trial. 

In  the  matter  of  text-books  for  the  High  Schools,  fear  of  popular 
clamor  against  new  books  should  not  prevent  their  introduction 
whenever  needed.  The  world  does  not  stand  still,  and  advanced 
ideas  cannot  be  obtained  from  obsolete  books.  It  is  nonsense  to 
think  of  acquiring  a  higher  education  without  taking  advantage  of 
every  aid  in  the  way  of  new  books. 

15.  Veteran  Teachers. — .Ellis  H.  Holmes  ranks  as  the  teacher 
continuously  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  city  schools  for  the 
longest  period  of  time — 23  years,  from  February,  1853,  to  June, 
1876.  During  that  time  he  was  never  absent  a  day  from  school. 
Mrs.  A.  E.  Dubois,  nee /Miss  Anna  E.J  Sandford,  ranks  next 
to  Mr.  Holmes,  having  begun  teaching  as  an  assistant  in  Mr. 
Denman's  school,  April,  1853.  She  has  been  continuously  in 


88  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

the  schools,  with  the  exception  of  six  months'  leave  of  absence. 
Mrs.  L.  A.  K.  Clappe  has  taught  continuously  since  November 
4,  1854,  and  Mrs.  L.  A.  Morgan  since  1855.  Mrs.  Margaret 
Deane  has  taught  since  1854,  but  not  continuously. 

James  Denman  began  teaching  November  17,  1851,  but  re 
signed  in  1857,  and  was  elected  City  Superintendent  in  1858. 
He  has  taught  altogether  13  years,  and  held  the  office  of  Super 
intendent  7  years. 

John  0.  Pelton  taught  in  San  Francisco  in  1850;  from  1857 
to  1860;  1863  to  1870;  altogether  11  years.  He  was  City  Su 
perintendent  3  years,  and  County  Superintendent  1  year;  was 
Principal  of  the  State  Reform  School  at  Marysville,  1860  to 
1863,  and  Superintendent  of  the  San  Francisco  Industrial 
School  from  1870  to  1872. 

Captain  Joseph  C.  Merrill  was  the  popular  Principal  of  the 
Spring  Valley  School  from  1852  to  1860,  when  he  resigned  and 
soon  after  entered  the  volunteer  service  of  the  United  States, 
and  remained  during  the  war  of  secession.  In  1870,  he  was 
appointed  Principal  of  the  Industrial  School,  and  soon  after 
wards  Superintendent.  During  an  "investigation"  the  hue  and 
cry  of  cruelty  was  raised  against  him,  and  he  resigned.  He 
was  one  of  the  kindest  and  most  generous  of  men,  and  was  the 
most  useful  teacher  ever  employed  in  that  institution. 

George  W.  Minns  was  elected  teacher  of  Natural  Sciences  in 
the  High  School,  August,  1856,  and  Principal  of  the  Boys'  High 
School  in  1864,  and  Principal  of  the  State  Normal  School,  1866. 
In  1867,  he  resigned  and  went  East.  Professor  Minns  was  one 
of  the  leading  educational  lecturers  in  the  State. 

H.  P.  Carlton  was  Principal  of  a  Grammar  School  from  1854 
to  1861;  Vice-principal  and  ^Principal  of  the  State  Normal 
School  from  1863  to  1873;  and  has  been  a  teacher  in  San  Fran 
cisco  and  Oakland  since  1873. 

Theodore  Bradley  was  made  Principal  of  the  Denman  School, 
1861,  and  of  the  Boys'  High  School  in  1866;  in  which  he  re 
mained  until  1874. 

Thomas  S.  Myrick  was  the  popular  Principal  of  the  Market 
Street  School  and  the  Union  Grammar  School  from  1856  to 
1869.  He  is  now  teaching  at  Dutch  Flat. 

Mrs.  E.  S.  Forrester  has  been  continuously  engaged  as  a  pri 
mary  teacher  since  May  10,  1856, — 20  years. 

Miss  Kate  Kennedy,  the  first  female  Principal  of  a  Grammar 


AND   SCHOOL   REPORTS. 


89 


School,  has  been  in  the  Department,  without  leave  of  absence, 
for  19  years. 

Miss  Dorcas  D.  S.  Prescott,  and  Mrs.  C.  V.  Gummer,  nee 
Benjamin,  have  taught  since  1857, — 18  years. 

Mrs.  E.  H.  B.  Varney  has  taught  school  30  years;  one  half 
of  that  period  in  this  city. 

Miss  A.  E.  Slavan,  Miss  C.  L.  Hunt,  and  Mrs.  S.  N.  Joseph, 
have  been  teaching  since  1859. 

Miss  P.  M.  Stowell,  Mrs.  M.  J.  Sankey,  nee  Kitchie,  Mrs.  A. 
H.  Hammill,  nee  Austin,  and  Miss  M.  A.  Humphreys,  have 
taught  for  15  years;  Mrs.  Mary  W.  Kincaid,  Miss  J.  M.  A. 
Hurley,  Miss  Anna  A.  Hill,  14  years;  Miss  Helen  Thompson, 
Mrs.  E.  P.  Bradley,  Mrs.  A.  S.  Trask,  nee  Duane,  Miss  Anna 
Gibbons,  13  years;  Mrs.  Aurelia  Griffith,  Miss  G.  E.  Thurton, 
Miss  S.  A.  Barr,  Mrs.  C.  L.  Atwood,  and  Miss  Laura  S.  Fow 
ler,  12  years. 

Hubert  Burgess  has  taught  drawing  for  16  years,  and  Wash 
ington  Elliott  has  been  teaching  music  for  14  years. 

Henry  N.  Bolander  was  a  teacher  in  this  city  for  11  years; 
he  became  State  Superintendent  in  1872,  and  City  Superintend 
ent  in  1876. 

Ebenezer  Knowlton,  well  known  as  an  Institute  elocutionist, 
was  first  an  assistant  in  the  State  Normal  School,  1865,  after 
wards  Principal  of  the  Kincon  School,  and  is  now  an  assistant 
in  the  Boys'  High  School. 

16.  Ten  Years'  Teaching. — The  following  is  a  list  of  teachers 
continuously  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  city  schools  for  a  period 
of  ten  years : 


Beales,  Mrs.  C.  E.  Flint,  Miss  A.  T. 

Bragg,  Miss  Mary  J.  Grant,  Miss  Helen  A. 

jBaumgardner,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Gorman,  Mr.  W.  J. 


Baldwin,  Nellie. 
Burke,  Mrs.  L.  K. 
Cleveland,  Miss  E.  A. 
Ciprico,  Miss  Anita  C. 
Campbell,  Miss  Amy  T. 
Cook,  Miss  Hannah. 
Carusi,  Mrs.  M.  J. 
Cbilds,  Miss  Katie  B. 
Campbell,  Miss  C.  E. 
Coulon,  Miss  V. 
Castelhun,  Miss  M.  A. 
Carter,  Mrs.  Louisa. 
Dore,  Miss  A.  M. 
Deetken,  Mrs.  E.  G. 
Foster,  Mrs.  Emily. 
Fink,  Miss  A.  P. 
Forbes,  Miss  Jennie. 

6 


Humphrey,  Mr.  E.  D. 
Hucks,  Miss  Annie  E. 
Hoffman,  Mrs.  M.  L. 
Harswell,  Miss  M.  A. 
Hyman,  Miss  Deborah, 
Jourdau,  Miss  A.  M. 
Jordan,  Miss  M.  L. 
Jewett,  Miss  A.  S. 
Jewett,  Miss  Lizzie  B. 
Jones,  Mrs.  E.  B. 
Littlefield,  Miss  Nellie  A 
Manning,  Miss  Agues  M , 
~~Mayboru,  Miss  M.  J. 
Marcus,  Mrs.  E.  C. 
Malloy,  Miss  Bessie. 
Miller,  Miss  S.  E. 
-»•»,  Parker,  Miss  Jean. 


Plunkett,  Mrs.  C.  P. 

Reynolds,  Mrs.  F.  E. 

Russell,  Mrs.  L.  A. 

Howe,  Miss  A.  A, 
-  Sullivan,  Miss  KateM. 

Salisbury,  Miss  M.  A. 

Shaw,  Miss  E.  A. 

Sullivan,  Mrs .  Therese  M, 
^Stincen,  Miss  M.  A. 

Smith,  Miss  Jessie. 

Smith,  Miss  Jennie. 

Smith,  Miss  M .  F. 

Stowell,  Miss  Fannie . 

Soule,  Miss  Fanny  L . 

White,  Miss  Elizabeth. 

Wood,  Mrs.  E.  A. 

Wade,  Miss  Margaret, 

Washburn,  Mrs.  Georgia. 
-.Winn,  Mr.  A.  T. 

White,  Silas  A. 


90  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

3.  SUPERINTENDENTS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS,  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

APPOINTED    BY   THE    BOARD    OF   EDUCATION. 

Thomas  J.  Nevins '52,  '53 

Wm.  H.  O'Grady '54,  '55 

ELECTED  BY  DIRECT  VOTE  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 

E.  A.  Theller '56 

John  C.  Pelton '57,  '66,  '67 

Henry  B.  Janes '58,  '59 

James  Denman '60,  '61,  '68,  '69,  '70,  '74,  '75 

George  Tait '62,  '63,  '64,  '65 

J.  H.  Widber '71,  '72,  '73 

H.  N.  Bolander '76-'78 

Deputy  Superintendents. 
[Appointed  by  the  City  Superintendent.] 

John  Swett '71,  '72,  '73 

Joseph  Leggett '74,  '75 

D.  C.  Stone '76-'78 

Secretaries  of  the  Board. 

[Appointed  by  the  Superintendent  and  Confirmed  by  the  Board.,] 
George  Beanston '68-'76 

4.  PRESIDENTS  OF  BOARDS  OF  EDUCATION,  SAN  FRANCISCO 
[Mayors,  ex-qfficio,  Presidents  of  Boards  appointed  by  the  Common  Council. 

C.  J.  Brenham '52 

C.  K.  Garrison '54 

S.  P.  Webb '55 

James  Van  Ness '56 

CHOSEN  BY  BOARDS  ELECTED  BY  THE  PEOPLE. 

William  Sherman '57,  '58,  '59 

William  Pierson '60,  '61 

W.  L.  Palmer ." '62 

Dr.  C.  C.  Knowles '63 

M.  Lynch '64,  '65 

J.  W.  Winans '66,  '67 

Thos..  H.  Holt '68 

H.  A.  Cobb '69 

J.  M.  Burnett '70,  71 

Joseph  Clement '72,  ;76 

H.  J.  Tilden '73,  '74 

Andrew  McF.  Davis . .  '75 


AND   SCHOOL  REPORTS. 


91 


5.  HISTORICAL   LIST   OF  PRINCIPALS,    SAN   FRANCISCO.* 

*  Taken,  mainly,  from  the  Annual  Report  of  Superintendent  Denman,  '75. 


BOYS'   HIGH. 

X  E.  H.  Holmes Aug.  '56. 

Geo.  W.   Minns Jane,  '64. 

Theodore  Bradley.  .  .  .June,  '65. 
W.  T.  Heed March,  '75. 


GIRLS'  HIGH. 


E.  H.  Holmes '64  to '76. 

John  Swett June,  '76. 


DENMAN. 

James  Denrnan  .......  Nov.  '51. 

George  Tait  ..........  June,  '57. 

Theodore  Bradley  .....  Dec.  '61. 

James  Denman  .......  July*  '64. 

John  Swett  ...........  Dec.  '67. 

James  Denman  ........  Jan.  '71. 

John  Swett  ...........  Dec.  '73. 

James  Denman  .......  June,  '76. 


RINCON. 
Silas  Weston  ..........  Jan.  '52. 

Wm.  H.  O'Grady  .....  May,  '52. 

Stillman  Holmes  .......  Oct.  '53. 

VFohn  Swett  ............  Dec.  '53. 

John  C.  Pelton  ........  Jan.  '63. 

Ira  G.  Hoitt  ..........  Sept.  '64. 

Ebenezer  Knowlton.  ..June,  '65. 
Miss  E.  A.  Cleveland.  ..Oct.  '74. 

WASHINGTON. 

E.  E.  Jones  ...........  Dec.  '51. 

E.  H.  Holmes  ......  March,  '53. 

H.  P.  Carlton  .........  Aug.  '56. 

James  Stratton  ........  Jan.  '61. 

L.  D.  Allen  ..........  July,   '68. 

Joseph  O'Connor  ......  Dec.  '74. 

UNION. 

Ahira  Holmes  ........  June,  '52. 

Wm.  Hammill  ........  Nov.  '56. 

Ahira  Holmes  .........  Jan.  '58. 

Thomas  S.  Myrick  .....  Jan.  '60. 

Philip  Prior  .........  June,   '69. 

Chas.  F.  True..  ..Dec.  '74. 


SPUING   VALLEY. 

Asa  W.  Cole Feb.  '52. 

J.  C.  Mori-ill Oct.   '53. 

Geo.  W.  Peck May,  '60. 

Geo.  W.  Bunnell Jan.  '62. 

Bernhard  Marks Jan.  '74. 

Noah  F.  Flood June,  '68. 

W.  J.  G.  Williams.  .  .  .June,  '69. 

Silas  A.  White Feb.   '75. 

J.  W.  Anderson -.Jan.  '76. 

LINCOLN. 

Ira  G.  Hoitt July,  '65. 

J.  C.  Pelton Dec.   '67. 

W.  T.  Luckey Dec.  '67. 

Bernhard  Marks June,  '68. 

J.  K.  Wilson..  ..Nov.  '72. 


MISSION. 

Alfred  Kix 

Clara  B.  Walbridge. 
Thos.  C.  Leonard.. 

Ahira  Holmes 

E.  D.  Humphrey.  . . 

Mary  J.  Bragg 

Laura  T.  Fowler.  . 


,  .  May,  '52. 
..Aug.  '53. 
. .  .Nov.  '55. 
.June,  '65. 
.June,  '67. 
..Feb.  '71. 
..Nov.  '74. 


BROADWAY. 

W.  J.  G.  Williams.  .  .June,  '68. 

Noah  F.  Flood June,  '69. 

Chas.  F.  True Nov.  '72. 

W.  J.  G.  Williams Feb.  '75. 

C.  H.  Ham March,  '76. 

SOUTH  COSMOPOLITAN. 

Mrs.  Ulrika  Eendsburg .  .Oct.  '65. 

H.  N.  Bolander Feb.  '67. 

A.  Herbst Dec.  '71. 

NORTH  COSMOPOLITAN. 

Miss  Kate  Kennedy '67. 

EIGHTH  STREET. 

WTm.  J.  Gorman Jan.  '68. 

J.  Phelps Sept.  '69. 

John  A.  Moore Sept.  '70. 


SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 


HATES  VALLEY. 

E.  D.  Humphrey July,  '71. 

VALENCIA  STREET. 

Silas  A.  White '71. 

J.  W.  Anderson Feb.  '75. 

Silas  A.  White Jan.  '76. 

MODEL  SCHOOL. 

Mrs.  A.  E.  Dubois '67. 

SOUTH  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

W.  J.  Gorman Sept.  '69. 

GEARY  STREET. 

Wm.  A.  Kobertson .  .  .  .June,  '76. 

MARKET  STREET  PRIMARY. 

Miss  M.  D.  Lynde. .  .March,  '60. 

Fred.  Elliot Jan.  '62. 

Bernhard  Marks Sept.  '62. 

Mrs.  C.  H.  Stout Jan.  '64. 

Miss  Agnes  Manning.  .July,  '72. 

LINCOLN   PRIMARY. 

Miss  Kate  Sullivan '66. 

TEHAMA  PRIMARY. 

"Mrs.  E.  C.  Burt June,  '65. 

Mrs.  E.  A.  Wood June,  '67. 

FOURTH  STREET. 

Mrs.  A.  E.  McGlynn.  .April,  '63. 
Mrs.  L.  A.  Morgan June,  '65. 

PINE  AND  LARKIN  PRIMARY. 

Miss  Eliza  Hawxhurst.  .Jan,  '62. 

Miss  J.  A.  Lyon March,  '62. 

Mrs.  C.  H.  Stout May,  '63. 

Mrs.  Alice  Bunnell May, '64. 

Miss  Hannah  Cooke.  .  .June,  '65. 

GREENWICH  PRIMARY. 

Mrs.  K.  D.  Bird.  . Jan.  '52. 

Miss  P.  M.  Stbwell Dec.  '61. 

Miss  Kate  Kennedy.  .  .May,  '62. 
Mrs.  W.  E.  Duane.  . .  June,  '68. 


HAYES  VALLEY  PRIMARY. 

Miss  H.  B.  Gushing.  .  .  .Jan.  '63. 

Miss  L.  J.  Mastic May,  '64. 

Miss  P.  M.  Stowell.  .March,  '68. 

UNION  PRIMARY. 

Mrs.  Amelia  Griffith '67. 

EIGHTH  STREET  PRIMARY. 

Miss  Mary  Williams.  .June,  '64. 
Miss  A.  E.  Slaven Oct.  '64. 

SHOTWELL  PRIMARY. 

Miss  Anna  A.  Hill Feb.  '72. 

BUSH  STREET  PRIMARY. 

Mrs.  C.  P.  Plunkett Jan. '72. 

BROADWAY  PRIMARY. 

Miss  A.  M.  Murphy.  .  .  .Feb.  '67. 
Mrs.  L.  G.  Deetkin Aug.  '70. 

SPRING  VALLEY  PRIMARY. 

Miss  H.  A.  Hanecke .  .March,  '66. 

Miss  P.  A.  Fink Sept.  '66. 

Miss  J.  M.  A.  Hurley.  .Nov.  '67. 

POWELL  STREET  PRIMARY. 

Mrs.  E.  C.  Burt June,  '61. 

Miss  Caroline  Price.  .  .June, '63. 
Miss  C.  Y.  Benjamin.  .June,  '66. 

RINCON  PRIMARY. 

Miss  E.  G.  Smith Jan.  '67. 

Miss  Jennie  Smith.  .  .March,  '68. 

STOCKTON  PRIMARY. 

Miss  M.  D'Arcy '68. 

Miss  A.  M.  Stincen '74. 

TYLER  AND  JONES  STREET. 

Mrs.  C.  B.  Jones '70. 

SAN  BRUNO. 

Miss  G.  Washburn.  .  ..Sept.  '64. 

George  Pershine July,  '65. 

Miss  Jennie  Sheldon .  .  Sept.  '65. 

Miss  Marion  Sears Oct.  '69. 

Mrs.  M.Dean Aug. '72. 


AND   SCHOOL  KEPORTS. 


93 


TYLER  STREET. 

-  Miss  A.  S.  Jewett Aug.  '68. 

Miss  S.  H.  Whitney.  .  .Aug.  '67. 
Miss  Mary  J.  Bragg. .  .June,  '68. 
Miss  E.  Gushing Feb.  '71. 

POINT  LOBOS. 

Wellington  Gordon '71. 

WEST  END  PRIMARY. 

Miss  A.  M.  Dore Oct.  '04. 

Mrs.  Louisa  Carter.  .  .June,  '65. 

Mr.  S.  A.  White.' Oct.  '66. 

Mr.  A.  L.  Mann June,  '67. 

Mr.  Robert  Desty.  .       July   '67 
Mr.  W.  W.  Holder  .  .  .July,  '68. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Lannon Aug.  '69. 

Mr.  Chas.  F.  True.. March,  '70. 

<Mr.  C.  H.  Ham Aug.  '70. 

Mr.  W.  W.  Stone Feb.  '73. 

Mr.  Selden  Sturgess.  .  .Sept.  '75. 

FAIRMOUNT  PRIMARY. 

Miss  M.  A.  Salisbury . .  Sept.  '64. 
Miss  A.  M.  Manning.  .  .Jan.  '65. 

Miss  A.  C.  Bowen June,  '65. 

Mr.  E.  D.  Humphrey. June,  '66. 


FAIRMOUNT  PRIMARY—  Continued. 

Mr.  Philip  Prior June,  '67. 

Mrs.  T.  J.  Kevins Aug.  '67. 

Miss  Susie  Carey July,  '68. 

Mr.  Albert  Lyser Oct.  '68. 

Mr.  Geo.  B.  Kobertson .  Aug.  '70. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Lannon Oct.  '70. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Robertson. .  .Nov.  '71. 
Mr.  J.  W.  Anderson.  .  .Oct.  '73. 

Mr.  H.  P.  Carlton Oct.  '74. 

Mr.  W.  W.  Stone Aug.  '75. 


OCEAN  HOUSE. 

Mrs.  M.  McGilvery .  . .  .July,  '66. 

Mr.  Albert  Lyser June,  '68. 

Mr.  W.  A.  Robertson.  .Nov.  '68. 

Mr.  John  Fox April,  '69. 

Mr.  John  A.  Moore. .  .June,  '69. 

Mr.  W.  Gordon Dec.  '69. 

Miss  A.  M.  Murphy.  .  .Sept.  '70. 
Mr.  Jas.  Dwyer Feb.  '73. 


JTOE  AND  TEMPLE. 

Mrs.  E.  Foster 75. 

JACKSON  STREET. 

Mrs.  B.  F.  Moore.,  ..75. 


Evening  Schools. — An  evening  school  was  opened,  Aug.  1856, 
Aliira  Holmes,  principal.  James  Denman,  John  Swett,  and  John 
Hammill  volunteered  their  services  as  assistants  until  the 
school  was  established.  This  school  continued  with  from  100 

v 

to  200  pupils  until  1869,  when  John  Swett  was  elected  Principal. 
The  school  was  then  regularly  graded,  was  opened  in  the 
Lincoln  building,  was  made  free  to  adults,  and  in  three  months 
the  attendance  swelled  to  900.  A  commercial  class  and  an 
industrial  drawing  class  were  soon  organized.  In  1871,  Mr. 
Swett  resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  William  A*  Robertson, 
the  present  Principal. 


SCHOOL  LEGISLATION. 


6.    HISTORICAL     STATISTICAL     TABLE    OF     THE    SAN    FRAN 
CISCO   SCHOOLS,     1852-76. 


YEAES. 

TOTAL    EXPENSE. 

AVERAGE 
DAILY 

ATTENDANCE. 

NUMBER 

or 

TEACHERS. 

1852  

$23  125  00 

445 

15 

1853  , 

35  040  00 

1  182 

16 

1854 

159  249  00 

1  272 

19 

1855  

136  580  00 

1,638 

29 

1856  . 

125  064  00 

2  516 

61 

1857 

92  955  00 

2  155 

60 

1858  

104,808  00 

2,521 

67 

1859  

134  731  00 

2,829 

75 

1860 

156  407  00 

2  837 

68 

1861 

158  855  00 

3  377 

73 

1862  

134,567  00 

3,786 

82 

1863 

178,929  00 

4,389 

94 

1864  

228,411  00 

5,229 

108 

1865 

346,862  00 

6,718 

138 

1866  

361,668  00 

8,131 

206 

1867 

507,822  00 

10,177 

253 

1868 

415,839  00 

11,871 

285 

1869  

400,842  00 

13,113 

326 

1870  

526,625  90 

15,394 

371 

1871  

705,116  00 

16,978 

416 

1872 

668,262  00 

18,272 

480 

1873  

611,818  00 

18,530 

506 

1874 

689  022  00 

19,434 

510 

1875 

707,445  36 

21,014 

552 

Total 

$7,610,043  36 

7.  SPECIAL  SCHOOL  STATISTICS,  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Estimated  population,  1875 234,000 

Number  of  census  children,  5  to  17 37,583 

Number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  public  schools 31,128 

Average  daily  attendance .  •  21,014 

Number  attending  private  and  church  schools 6,094 

Enrolled  in  High  Schools 702 


AND  SCHOOL  REPORTS.  95 

Enrolled  |in  Grammar  Schools 6,055 

"  Primary  Schools 22,158 

"  Evening  Schools 2,213 

Teachers  (men,  63;  women,  447) — total 510 

Whole  number  of  classes 449 

Expenditures $700,147 

Tax  roll  of  the  city $264,000,000 

Estimated  value  of  school  property $3,367,000 

CLASSES   AND    TEACHERS.  j 

Number  of  classes  in  the  High  Schools 17 

Number  of  Grammar  Classes  (average,  50  each) 108 

Number  of  Primary  Classes  (average,  55  each) 304 

Number  of  Evening  Classes  (average,  40  each) 20 

Total  number  of  classes 449 

Total  number  of  Principals  of  different  schools 47 

High  Schools,  2;  Grammar  Schools,  12;  Mixed  Schools, 

9;  Primary  Schools,  24. 
Number  of  Principals  of  schools  not  required  to  teach  a  class .  .     25 

Males,  12;  Females,  13. 
Number  of  Vice-Principals 16 

Males,  8;  Females,  8. 
Number  of  teachers  in  High  Schools 22  ^ 

Males,  10;   Females,  12. 
Number  of  teachers  in  Grammar  Schools 129 

Males,  27;  Females,  102. 
Number  of  teachers  in  Primary  Schools 325 

Male,  1;  Females,  324. 
Number  of  teachers  in  Evening  Schools 23 

Males,  20;  Females,  3. 
Number  of  teachers  of  German  and  French 22 

German,  13;  French,  9. 

Teacher  of  Latin  and  Greek 1 

Number  of  special  teachers 11 

Music,  6;  Drawing,  5. 

Total  number  of  teachers . .  .  510 


96  TEACHERS'  CONVENTIONS 


PART   II. 


I.    TEACHERS'  CONVENTIONS  AND  INSTITUTES. 


i.  FIRST  STATE  TEACHERS'  CONVENTION. 

THE  first  State  Teachers'  Convention,  called  by  State  Super 
intendent  Hubbs,  was  held  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  Dec. 
26-28,  1854,  Supt.  Hubbs  presiding.  No  roll  of  members  ap 
pears  on  the  manuscript  minutes,  but  about  100  teachers,  and 
other  persons  interested  in  school  matters,  from  various  parts 
of  the  State,  were  in  attendance. 

Col.  E.  D.  Baker  was  introduced  to  the  convention,  and 
made  an  eloquent  address  on  the  subject  of  general  education, 
and  painted  in  glowing  language  the  future  of  California.  Ke- 
marks  were  made  by  Kev.  M.  C.  Briggs,  Eev.  John  E.  Benton, 
and  Dr.  Gibbons.  Dr.  Winslow  read  an  address  on  the  "Use 
of  the  Bible  in  Public  Schools,"  and  the  Eev.  S.  Y.  Blakesly 
one  on  "Phonography  in  School." 

On  the  second  day  J.  M.  Buffington,  of  Stockton,  made  a 
report,  which  was  adopted,  recommending  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  of  seven,  to  make  ;  immediate  arrangements  for 
organizing  a  State  Institute.  John  S.  Hittell  introduced  a 
resolution,  which  was  adopted,  providing  for  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  to  memorialize  the  Legislature  on  the  subject 
of  libraries.  Mr.  Freeman  Gates  moved  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  to  report  a  State  series  of  text-books.  Essa}7s  on 
the  management  of  primary  schools  were  read  by  Mrs.  Hazle- 
ton,  Mrs.  Clapp,  Mrs.  Williams,  Miss  Allyn,  and  Miss  Austin. 
Mr.  Wells,  of  Sacramento,  read  an  essay  on  the  "General 
Management  of  Schools,"  and  Mr.  Phillips,  of  Stockton,  on 
the  "Free  School  System. "  Mr.  Buffington,  of  Stockton,  de 
livered  an  address  on  "Education,"  and  Sherman  Day  spoke 


AND  INSTITUTES.  97 

on  the  same  subject.  *  John  Swett  read  an  address  on  the  sub 
ject  of  "Elocution  in  the  Common  Schools,"  and  J.  C.  Merrill 
an  able  address  on  "Unclassified  Schools." 

The  proceedings  of  this  Convention  were  characterized  by 
a  good  degree  of  interest;  the  essays  and  addresses  were  gen 
erally  able;  but  no  improvements  in  school  law  worth  mention 
ing  were  recommended,  and  the  convention  left  no  mark  on  the 
educational  history  of  the  State. 

a.  SECOND  STATE  TEACHERS'  CONVENTION. 

The  second  State  Teachers'  Convention  met  at  Benicia,  Aug. 
12,  1856,  Supt.  Hubbs  presiding. 

William  Sherman,  from  the  Committee  on  Text-Books,  re 
ported  a  series  recommended  for  general  use. 

Gen.  Wool  being  introduced  to  the  meeting,  made  a  brief 
speech,  in  which  he  complimented  the  ladies,  and  said  that  all 
the  greatest  men  owed  their  education  and  the  formation  of 
their  characters  principally  to  women. 

Mr.  Merrill  offered  a  resolution  in  favor  of  reading  the  Bible 
in  the  public  schools,  which,  after  an  exciting  debate,  was 
tabled  by  21  to  16. 

Essays  were  read  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Merrill,  on  "Corporal  Pun 
ishment;"  by  Mr.  Monroe,  on  "Thorough  Training;"  by  Mr. 
Wells,  on  "Course  of  Studies;"  and  by  Mrs.  Hill,  on  the 
"Mission  of  Females  as  Teachers." 

The  convention  was  not  largely  attended,  only  60  members 
being  present.  No  important  measures  were  acted  on,  and  the 
convention  gave  no  renewed  impulse  to  the  interests  of  educa 
tion. 

3.  FIRST  STATE  INSTITUTE. 

The  first  State  Institute,  called  by  State  Superintendent 
Moulder,  met  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  May  27,  1861,  and 
continued  in  session  five  days,  with  a  total  attendance  of  250 
members.  The  Legislature  of  the  previous  year  had  made 
an  appropriation  of  $3000  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  State  In 
stitutes. 

In  his  address,  Mr.  Moulder  stated  the  plan  of  proceedings^ 
which  devoted  the  morning  sessions  to  regular  Institute  lec 
tures,  and  the  afternoon  sessions  to  a  convention;  that  the  adop- 


98  TEACHERS'  CONVENTIONS 

tion  of  a  State  series  of  text-books  was  one  important  measure 
to  be  acted  upon;  recommended  the  appointment  of  committees 
on  school  laws  and  State  Normal  School;  and  summed  up  the 
improvements  made  in  the  school  laws  during  a  period  of  four 
years. 

George  W.  Minns  delivered  an  address  on  "Methods  of 
Teaching." 

^  Mr.  Swett,  who  was  appointed  to  present  the  subject  of 
"Object  Teaching"  and  "Gymnastics,"  introduced  first  an 
object  lesson,  and  then  a  gymnastic  class  from  the  Eincon 
School,  which  went  through  with  double  and  single  dumb-bell 
exercises,  free  gymnastics,  calisthenics,  wands,  and  Indian  club 
exercises. 

James  Denman  delivered  an  address  on  "School Discipline." 

Mr.  Sparrow  Smith  moved  that  a  committee  of  three  teachers 
be  appointed  to  report  on  establishing  a  State  Teachers'  Jour-  ' 
nal,  and  Messrs.  Smith,  Gates  and  Minns  were  appointed. 

George  W.  Minns  was  made  Chairman  of  a  Standing  Com 
mittee  on  Text-Books,  to  report  at  the  next  Institute.  Mr. 
Smith,  of  Sacramento,  from  the  Committee  on  State  school 
journal,  reported  in  favor  of  appointing  a  standing  committee 
to  devise  ways  and  means  for  publishing  such  a  journal,  and 
after  the  appointment  of  this  committee,  the  Institute  adjourned 
sine  die.  The  proceedings  were  published  in  pamphlet  form. 

4.  SECOND  STATE  INSTITUTE. 

The  Second  State  Institute  was  convened  in  Sacramento  by 
Superintendent  Moulder,  September  23,  1862,  and  continued  in 
session  three  days,  with  an  attendance  of  100  members. 

Superintendent  Moulder  made  a  brief  introductory  address. 
Mr.  George  W.  Bonnell  delivered  an  address  on  the  "Art  of 
Memory,"  illustrated  by  a  pupil  from  his  school. 

Mr.  Minns,  Chairman  of  Standing  Committee  on  Text-Books, 
made  a  lengthy  report  on  that  subject.  Union  resolutions  were 
unanimously  and  enthusiastically  adopted. 

Mr.  Pierce,  of  Yolo,  introduced  a  resolution  in  favor  of  a 
law  requiring  a  uniform  State  series  of  text-books,  which  after 
a  long  debate  was  passed  by  a  vote  of  26  to  24. 

Mr.  Sparrow  Smith  introduced  a  resolution,  which  was 
adopted,  to  appoint  a  standing  committee  of  twelve  on  State 
Teachers'  Journal. 


AND  INSTITUTES.  99 

Mr.  Minns  delivered  a  very  eloquent  and  able  lecture  on 
"Moral  Instruction." 

Supt.  Moulder  then  closed  the  Institute  with  the  following 
remarks : 

Before  putting  the  question  to  adjourn  sine  die,  I  desire  to 
express  my  earnest  thanks  for  the  kindness  and  consideration  you 
have  exhibited  toward  your  presiding  officer,  and  more  especially 
for  the  warm  and  flattering  terms  in  which  you  have  seen  fit  to 
speak  of  my  official  action  during  the  past  six  years. 

It  is  deeply  gratifying  to  find  that  I  have  met  the  approval  of 
those  who  ought  best  to  know  how  I  have  performed  the  duties  of 

my  office,  and  whose  good  opinion  is  therefore  most  to  be  desired. 
*  *  #  #  #  *  * 

My  connection  with  you,  fellow-workers  in  the  cause,  has  always 
been  harmonious  and  agreeable.  In  retiring  to  private  life,  I  shall 
retain  a  pleasing  recollection  of  our  long  association.  From  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  I  wish  you  all  a  prosperous  and  happy  career. 
Thanking  you  again  for  your  unvarying  courtesy  and  your  kind 
expressions  of  approval,  I  bid  you  farewell,  and  declare  this  con 
vention  adjourned  sine  die. 

The  proceedings  were  published  in  pamphlet  form. 

STATE    CERTIFICATES. 

At  this  Institute,  the  State  Board  of  Examination,  consisting 
of  the  State  Superintendent  and  six  County  Superintendents, 
held  an  oral  examination  and  issued  5  State  grammar  school 
certificates  and  12  "Mixed  School"  certificates,  valid  for  two 
years. 

5.  THIRD  STATE  INSTITUTE. 

The  third  State  Institute,  called  by  State  Superintendent 
Swett,  assembled  in  San  Francisco,  May  4,  1863,  in  the  New 
Music  Hall,  the  largest  and  finest  hall  in  the  city.  Four  hun 
dred  and  sixty-three  registered  members  were  in  attendance. 
The  daily  sessions  were  also  attended  by  hundreds  of  other  per 
sons,  and  at  the  evening  lectures  the  hall  was  filled  to  its  utmost 
capacity.  In  the  circular  announcing  this  Institute  is  found  the 
following  on  the  benefits  of  Institutes : 

No  argument  is  needed  to  prove  the  great  advantages  resulting 
from  Teachers3  Institutes.  They  are  not  intended  as  substitutes 
for  Normal  Schools,  nor  can  they  educate  teachers  to  the  business 
of  their  profession ;  yet  they  serve  the  most  admirable  purpose  of 
improving  those  who  are  only  temporarily  engaged  in  the  profes 
sion,  of  furnishing  those  who  are  not  systematically  trained,  with 
the  best  methods  of  instruction,  and  of  increasing  the  efficiency  of 
professional  teachers. 


100  TEACHEKS'  CONVENTIONS 

The  exercises  of  an  Institute  involve  an  outline  view  of  subjects 
relating  to  the  proper  mode  of  imparting  instruction,  present  the  - 
latest  information  regarding  the  progress  of  education  in  our  own 
and  in  other  countries,  and  afford  an  occasion  for  experienced  teach 
ers  to  present  practical  views,  which  cannot  be  obtained  from  books. 
The  best  thoughts  and  best  acquirements  of  the  most  original  teach 
ers  are  elicited  and  thrown  into  the  common  stock  of  professional 
knowledge.  They  influence  public  opinion,  by  bringing  the  teach 
er's  labors  more  prominently  before  the  community,  and  by  prornot-  f 
ing  a  higher  estimate  of  the  Common  School  in  its  vital  relation  to 
society  and  the  State.  The  routine  of  a  teacher's  daily  life  limits 
his  influence  to  the  narrow  sphere  of  the  school-room;  but  the  pro 
ceedings  of  an  Institute  are  carried  by  the  press  to  thousands  of 
families  in  the  State,  and  his  views  become  an  active  element  in 
public  opinion.  No  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  Free  Schools  is  so 
formidable  as  the  apathy  and  indifference  of  the  people.  Eloquence 
the  most  winning,  and  logic  the  most  convincing,  alike  fall  dead 
upon  the  ears  of  those  who  see  nothing  in  the  establishment  of 
Common  Schools  but  an  increase  of  the  rates  of  taxation.  But  let 
the  true  relation  of  schools  to  property  be  once  clearly  seen,  let  it 
be  generally  known  that  the  value  of  property  increases  with  the 
excellence  of  the  schools,  and  real  estate  cheerfully  consents  to  be 
taxed,  from  motives  of  self-interest.  The  axiom  in  our  American 
system  of  Free  Schools,  that  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  the  property^ 
of  the  State  to  provide  for  the  education  of  all  the  children  of  the 
State,  rich  and  poor  alike,  is  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  our 
Government,  and  should  be  insisted  on  by  the  people  to  the  very 
fullest  extent.  If  the  people  of  our  State  are  indifferent  to  Public 
Schools,  it  is  only  because  more  absorbing  topics  engage  their  atten 
tion,  while  the  educational  interests  are  not  urgently  and  persist 
ently  presented  to  their  view. 

Association  in  some  form  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  agencies  of 
the  times.  In  conventions  of  industry  and  arts,  mind  is  dignifying 
the  labor  of  the  artisan.  Farmers  have  their  agricultural  societies, 
and  hold  their  annual  fairs,  in  which  are  exhibited  the  best  stock, 
the  choicest  varieties  of  grain  and  vegetables,  the  most  approved 
agricultural  implements,  and  the  best  labor-saving  machines.  The 
inventions,  improvements,  and  discoveries  of  one,  thus  become  the 
common  property  of  all. 

And  while  Institutes  have  accomplished  so  much  in  introducing 
better  methods  of  instruction,  they  are  no  less  beneficial  in  their 
effects  on  the  mental  habits  of  the  teachers.     Constantly  imparting 
to  minds  inferior  to  his  own,  his  faculties  exercised  in  one  direction^ 
only,  his  full  strength  seldom  called  forth,  he  needs  the  stimulus  of 
contact  with  his  equals,  or  superiors.     A  vigorous  contest  in  a  new^, 
arena  lessens  his  self-conceit,  and  brightens  his  faculties. 

It  is  a  common  notion  that  the  occupation  of  teaching  makes  a 
man  narrow-minded,  or  leads  him  into  eccentricities,  which  stick  to 
him  like  burs ;  but  it  is  not  true  of  a  teacher  who  has  in  him  the 
elements  of  living  scholarship.  He  may,  it  is  true,  run  in  the 
grooves  of  daily  habit,  until  he  becomes  a  machine  for  dragging  the 
dead  weight  of  a  school;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  may,  while  im- 


AND  INSTITUTES.  101 

parting  to  others,  himself  drink  from  the  perennial  fountain  of  true 
scholarship. 

But  no  occupation  is  more  exhausting  to  nervous  force  and  men- 
'  tal  energy  than  teaching ;  and  the  teacher  needs,  above  all  others, 
the  cheering  influences  of  pleasant  social  intercourse  with  those 
whose  tastes  and  habits  are  similar  to  his  own. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  the  schoolmaster,  buried  in  some  obscure 

district,  surrounded  only  by  the  raw  material  of  mind,  which  he  is 

trying  to  weave  into  a  finer  texture,  without  access  to  books,  his 

motives  either  misunderstood  or  aspersed,  his  labors  often  seemingly 

barren  of  results,  his  services  half  paid,  with  no  amusement  but  the 

collection  of  delinquent  rate  bills,  and  no  study  but  "how  to  make 

both  ends  meet;"  no  wonder  that  he  sometimes  becomes  moody 

and*  disheartened,  loses  his  enthusiasm,  and  feels  that  the  very  sky 

(above  him  is  one  vast  blackboard,  on  which  he  is  condemned  to/* 

/  work  out  the  sum  total  of  his  existence. 

He  only  needs  the  social  intercourse  of  institutes,  and  the  cordial 
sympathy  of  fellow -teachers,  there  evoked,  to  make  the  heavens 
glow  with  hope.  There  he  finds  his  difficulties  are  shared  by 
others,  his  labors  are  appreciated,  and  his  vocation  respected. 

The  duties  of  the  teacher  are  not  limited  to  the  school-room  ;  his  » 
influence  should  extend  to  society  around  him.  If  teachers  fold 
their  arms  in  listless  apathy,  it  is  not  strange  that  public  opinion  is 
"  dead  as  a  door  nail"  to  their  demands.  There  was  a  time  when 
a  man  taught  school  because  he  was  fit  for  nothing  else ;  but  all 
such  fossils  lie  buried  in  the  strata  of  past  educational  epochs. 
Now,  a  living  man  is  asked  for,  not  an  abridgment  of  mathematics. 

While  a  State  Institute  is  designed  more  especially  for  the  teach 
ers  of  public  schools,  professors  and  instructors  in  colleges  and  pri 
vate  institutions  of  learning  are  hardly  less  interested  in  the  success 
and  influence  of  this  educational  meeting.  The  interests  of  colleges 
and  collegiate  institutions  are  intimately  connected  with  those  of 
the  public  schools.  All  those  who  acquire  an  elementary  education 
in  the  common  schools,  necessarily  seek  in  private  institutions  of 
learning  to  complete  a  full  course  of  instruction.  The  better  the 
public  schools,  the  larger  will  be  the  number  of  those  whose  minds 
shall  be  awakened  to  pursue  a  course  of  study  beyond  the  range  of 
the  common  school.  Before  our  higher  institutions  can  produce 
disciplined  thinkers,  and  thoroughly  trained  professional  men,  the 
elementary  schools  must  be  carried  to  a  corresponding  degree  of 
excellence. 

As  teachers,  we  are  debtors  to  our  profession;  and  our  patriotism 
ought  to  incite  us  to  an  earnest  devotion  to  the  advancement  of  our 
system  of  Free  Schools ;  a  system  essential  to  the  existence  of  a 
free  people,  and  the  permanence  of  a  free  government. 

It  is  our  duty  to  cultivate  in  our  schools  a  higher  regard  for  free 
dom,  a  sounder  faith  in  the  fundamental  principles  upon  which  a 
representative  government  is  based,  and  a  higher  estimate  of  the 
incalculable  blessings  conferred  by  the  Constitution  —  firm  in  the 
conviction  that  our  country  is  working  out  for  the  future,  amid  the 
present  storm,  a  higher  order  of  civilization  and  a  nobler  conception 
of  liberty. 


'   102 

The  course  of  lectures  was  as  follows : 

George  W.  Minns :  Physical  Geography  of  the  United  States. 
Prof.  J.  D.  Whitney:  Character  of  Humboldt.  Eev.  Thomas 
Starr  King:  James  Eussell  Lowell,  or  the  "Bigelow  Papers.' 
'John  Swett:  Duties  of  the  State  to  Public  Schools.  Prof.  S.  I. 
C.  Swezey  :  State  Normal  Schools,  and  how  to  teach  English 
Composition.  Eev.  S.  H.  Wiley  :  The  Place  and  Eelations  of 
the  College  in  our  System  of  Education.  H.  P.  Carlton:  Object 
Teaching.  D.  C.  Stone:  Grammar.  Bernhard  Marks:  W^aste 
in  School.  Supt.  Swett:  Common  Sense  applied  to  Teaching. 
John  E.  Benton :  Elocution.  John  S.  Hittell :  Defects  in  Teach 
ing.  Dr.  F.  W.  Hatch :  Need  of  Good  Teachers.  Hubert  Bur 
gess:  Linear  Drawing.  Ahira  Holmes:  Report  of  State  Normal 
School. 

The  proceedings  were  published  in  a  neat  pamphlet  form  of 
166  pages,  and  an  edition  of  2400  copies  was  distributed  among 
teachers  and  school  officers. 

One  of  the  most  important  results  of  the  Institute  was  the 
action  taken  in  favor  of  a  State  tax  for  the  support  of  schools. 

The  State  Superintendent  urged  this  measure  in  a  lengthy 
address. 

The  recommendation  for  a  State  tax  met  the  approval  of  the 
Institute;  and  the  State  Superintendent  was  instructed  to  pre 
pare  a  form  of  petition  to  the  Legislature  on  the  subject,  and  to 
circulate  it  in  every  school  district  in  the  State. 

The  following  form  was  accordingly  prepared,  circulated  and 
signed  by  more  than  six  thousand  voters : 

PETITION    FOR    STATE    SCHOOL    TAX. 

To  the  Honorable  the  Members  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Cali 
fornia: 

WHEREAS,  We  believe  that  it  is  the  duty  of  a  representative  gov 
ernment  to  maintain  public  schools  as  an  act  of  self-preservation, 
and  that  the  property  of  the  State  should  be  taxed  to  educate  the 
children  of  the  State;  and  whereas,  the  present  School  Fund  is 
wholly  inadequate  to  sustain  a  system  of  free  schools;  we,  the  un 
dersigned,  qualified  electors  of  the  State  of  California,  respectfully 
ask  your  honorable  body  to  levy  a  special  State  tax  of  half  a  mill  on 
the  dollar  during  the  fiscal  years  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four 
and  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-five,  the  proceeds  of  the  same  to  be 
disbursed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  present  State  School  Fund. 

The  next  important  measure  was  the  action  relating  to  a  State 
educational  journal. 


AND  INSTITUTES.  103 

D.  C.  Stone,  of  Marysville,  from  the  standing  committee  of 
the  previous  year,  reported  against  the  practicability  of  starting 
such  a  journal. 

Sparrow  Smith,  also  of  the  committee,  in  a  minority  report, 
dissented,  and  urged  an  attempt  to  establish  one. 

Professor  Swezey,  J.  L.  Wilbur,  J.  0.  Pelton,  George  Tait, 
James  Stratton  and  Superintendent  Wwett,  spoke  in  favor  of  a 
journal,  and  Dr.  Gibbons  and  Mr.  Eodgers  rose  in  opposition. 

A  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Smith,  Tait  and  Seymour, 
was  appointed,  who  reported  in  favor  of  establishing  a  State 
educational  journal,  called  the  California  Teacher,  to  be  pub 
lished  at  one  dollar  per  annum,  and  to  be  edited  by  a  board  of 
resident  editors,  consisting  ofSTohn  Swett,  George  Tait  and 
George  "W.  Minns.  Mr.  Minns  declined  to  serve,  and  nomi 
nated  Mr.  Swezey  to  fill  his  place.  The  first  number  of  this 
journal  was  issued  in  July  following. 

The  subject  of  a  State  professional  society  being  brought 
before  the  Institute,  the  plan  was  advocated  by  Rev.  John  E. 
Benton,  Theodore  Bradley  and  others. 

A  committee  was  appointed,  with  Mr.  Bradley  chairman,  who 
made  a  report,  and  requested  all  interested  in  forming  such  a 
society  to  meet  after  the  final  adjournment  of  the  Institute. 

A  State  Educational  Society  was  soon  afterwards  formed  on 
the  plan  recommended. 

STATE    SERIES    OF    TEXT-BOOKS. 

The  revised  school  law  having  made  provision  for  the  adop 
tion  and  compulsory  use  of  some  uniform  State  series  of  text 
books,  no  small  share  of  the  time  of  the  Institute  was  taken  up 
in  discussing  the  merits  of  school-books.  The  Institute  voted 
to  recommend  to  the  State  Board  of  Education  the  following 
series,  which  was  afterwards  adopted  by  the  State  Board  with 
hardly  any  variation:  Willson's  Eeaders  and  Spellers;  Eaton's 
and  Robinson's  Arithmetics;  Cornell's  and  Warren's  Geogra 
phies;  Quackenbos'  Grammar  and  History  of  the  United  States. 

STATE    EXAMINATIONS. 

One  hundred  teachers  entered  the  examination  for  State 
diplomas  and  certificates.  The  examination  was  conducted  in 
writing,  by  means  of  printed  questions,  and  nearly  three  thou 
sand  pages  of  manuscript  were  carefully  examined  and  credited 
by  the  Board. 


104  TEACHEES'  CONVENTIONS 

State  educational  diplomas,  valid  for  six  years,  were  granted 
to  the  following  teachers  :  T.  C.  Barker,  Stephen  G.  Nye, 
Bernhard  Marks,  T.  W.  J.  Holbrook,  Joseph  W.  Josselyn, 
Thomas  Ewing,  William  K.  Kowell,  Cyrus  C.  Cummings, 
Edward  P.  Batchelor. 

State  certificates  were  issued  as  follows : 

First  grade  certificates,  valid  for  four  years 7 

Second  grade  certificates,  valid  for  two  years 10 

Third  grade  certificates,  valid  for  two  years 20 

Whole  number,  including  diplomas 46 

KESULTS. 

Aside  from  the  incidental  labors  and  benefits  of  the  Insti 
tute,  its  practical  and  solid  results  may  be  summed  up  as  follows : 

First.  A  State  educational  journal; 

Second.  Action  recommending  a  State  school  tax; 

Third.  A  State  educational  and  professional  society; 

Fourth.  Adoption  of  a  State  series  of  text-books; 

Fifth.  The  granting  of  a  large  number  of  State  diplomas  and 
certificates; 

Sixth.  The  publication  of  a  valuable  volume  of  proceedings 
and  lectures. 

6.  FOURTH  STATE  INSTITUTE. 

A  State  Teachers'  Institute  was  held  in  the  city  of  San  Fran 
cisco  from  September  19-24,  1865.  No  appropriation  in  aid  of 
such  Institutes  was  granted  by  the  State  Legislature  in  1863; 
but  owing  to  the  liberality  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  San 
Francisco,  which  tendered  the  use  of  the  Lincoln  Schoolhouse, 
and  paid  the  bills  for  gas,  the  State  Superintendent  was  enabled 
to  hold  one  without  any  expense  whatever  to  the  State. 

The  Institute  was  convened  in  September,  during  the  vacation 
of  the  city  schools,  that  being  the  only  time  in  the  year  when 
the  Lincoln  Hall  could  be  used  for  such  a  purpose.  Notwith 
standing  the  fact  that  many  of  the  schools  in  the  interior  had 
just  opened  their  new  terms  for  the  year,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  teachers  were  unable  to  attend,  three  hundred  teach 
ers  from  various  parts  of  the  State  were  present. 

The  most  important  purpose  for  which  it  was  convened  was 
the  holding  of  an  examination  of  applicants  for  State  diplomas 


AND   INSTITUTES.  105 

and  certificates.  How  well  that  purpose  was  accomplished  is 
set  forth  in  another  part  of  this  report. 

The  following  lectures  were  delivered  before  the  Institute: 
"The  State  and  the  School,"  John  E.  Benton;  "  School  Law," 
UTohn  Swett;  "  Geography  of  California,"  Charles  Russell  Clarke; 
"A  Practical  Education,"  Prof.  Kellogg;  "Physical  Training," 
EbenezerKnowlton;  "Physiology  and  Hygiene, "  H.  P.  Carlton; 
"Force,"  Dr.  "Washington  Ayer;  "Comparison  between  the 
European  and  American  Systems  of  Education,"  Bernhard 
Marks;  "  Moral  Training,"  Rev.  S.  H.  Willey;  "Modern  Lan 
guages  in  Public  Schools,"  .Ralph  Keeler;  "Education,"  Dr. 
Luckey. 

Several  of  these  addresses  were  published  in  the  California 
Teacher.  The  subjects  of  "School  Libraries,"  "Course  of 
Study  for  Ungraded  Schools,"  and  "Teachers'  Life  Diplomas," 
were  discussed  at  length. 

A  committee  of  all  the  County  Superintendents  present  at  the 
Institute  acted  in  detail  on  the  sections  of  a  bill  of  amendments 
to  the  school  law,  and,  with  a  few  immaterial  changes,  approved 
the  provisions  submitted  to  the  committee  by  the  Superintend 
ent  of  Public  Instruction. 

An  evening  ticket  lecture  was  delivered  by  J.  Boss  Browne, 
about  "  Queer  People  and  Queer  Places,"  which  netted  the  sum 
of  $54  for  the  benefit  of  the  California  Teacher.  Also  an  evening 
lecture  on  "Natural  Philosophy,"  by  Professor  Minns,  of  the 
State  Normal  School. 

The  California  Steam  Navigation  Company  gave  all  members 
of  the  Institute  free  passes  to  and  from  San  Francisco,  over  their 
several  routes  of  travel,  and  the  railroad  lines  gave  free  return 
passes  to  Institute  members. 

7.  FIFTH  AND  SIXTH  INSTITUTES. 

The  Fifth  Institute  was  held  in  San  Francisco  May  7-11, 1867, 
and  attended  by  500  teachers.  Addresses  as  follows: 
<  Supt.  John  Swett:  "Educational  Progress."  D.  C.  Stone: 
"Self-Improvement."  Kev.  C.  G.  Ames:  "The  Teacher's  Mo 
tives."  Ealph  Keeler:  "The  Oldest  Scholar."  Eev.  John  E. 
Benton:  "Eeadiuess."  William  White:  "Teachers  and  Pa 
rents." 

17 


106  TEACHEKS'  CONTENTIONS  AND  INSTITUTES. 

The  Sixth  Institute  convened  at  Lincoln  Hall,  May  4-7, 1869. 
Addresses  were  delivered  as  follows : 

State  Supt.  Fitzgerald:  "Educational  Condition."  Prof. 
John  Le  Conte:  "Nebula  Hypothesis."  Geo.  W.  Simonton: 
"True  Education."^"  John  Swett:  "Arithmetic." 

The  subject  of  "Text-Books"  was  discussed  and  reported 
upon. 

8.   SEVENTH  AND  EIGHTH   INSTITUTES. 

The  Seventh  State  Institute  met  in  San  Francisco,  Sept. 
13-16,  1870.  Addresses  and  lectures  were  given  by  Supt. 
Fitzgerald;  Prof.  E.  S.  Carr,  on  "Air,"  and  "Industrial  Ed 
ucation;"  Mr.  Marks,  on  "Mathematics."  J.  P.  Garlick: 
"Ungraded  Schools."  Miss  Dolliver:  A  Poem.  Dr.  Schell- 
house:  "Grammar."  Miss  Fowler:  "Defects  in  Education." 
Dr.  Luckey:  "State  Normal  School."  Prof.  Joseph  Le  Conte: 
"Universal  Law  of  Cyclical  Movement." 

The  Eighth  and  last  Institute  met  in  San  Francisco,  Nov. 
7-10,  1871.  Supt.  Fitzgerald  delivered  an  annual  address. 
Lectures  were  given  as  follows : 

Dr.  Schellhouse:  "The  Art  of  Teaching."  Dr.  Logan: 
"  School  Ventilation  and  Hygiene."  Dr.  Gibbons:  "Hygiene 
of  Dress."  Miss  Dolliver:  "Cobwebs  and  Brooms."  Dr.  E. 
S.  Carr:  " The  Educational  Work  of  Sarmiento." 

The  discussions  were,  in  general,  on  unimportant  topics. 
This  was  the  last  of  the  State  Institutes,  the  Legislature  of 
1872  having  cut  off  the  annual  appropriation  of  $250  for 
expenses. 

9.  STATE  ASSOCIATION. 

The  State  Board  of  Education  called,  by  resolution,  a  con 
vention  of  teachers  at  San  Jose,  June,  1875,  but  the  attend 
ance  was  small. 

A  State  Teachers'  Association  was  organized,  but  the  pro 
ceedings  were  of  no  special  consequence. 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  107 


II.    INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 


i.  INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION.* 

Mr.  President  and  Teachers:  During  the  past  few  weeks  the  world 
has  been  watching  the  sudden,  and  to  the  unobservant  eye,  almost 
miraculous  transfer  of  power  and  prestige  from  one  of  the  great 
leading  European  States  to  another.  A  quiet,  home-loving  practical 
people  have  suddenly  developed  a  vast  amount  of  latent  force,  which 
it  puzzles  us  to  name.  Is  it  brains  versus  bullets,  science  versus 
sentiment^  that  awaits  the  arbitrament  of  war,  or  a  territorial  ques 
tion  only  ?  Somehow  or  other,  ideas  and  education  have  gone  up 
in  the  scale  as  they  never  did  before  in  any  ten  weeks  of  human 
history. 

We  are  all  foolish  enough  to  fix  our  eyes  upon  the  two  central 
figures  of  the  strife;  but  neither  Teuton  fox  nor  Gallic  wolf  have 
had  very  much  to  do  with  the  results  which  so  astonish  and  appal 
the  world. 

If  Prussia,  so  far  victorious,  has  been  busy  rearing  a  nation  of 
soldiers,  she  has  done  it  openly,  in  the  face  of  the  world.  She  has 
made  every  soldier  a  fortification  by  the  completeness  of  an  educa 
tional  system  which  makes  the  most  of  whatever  a  man  is  born  with. 
That  system  is  on  exhibition,  not  only  of  its  value  for  defense,  but 
its  moral  power,  its  temperance  and  self-control.  Whatever  the 
final  political  result  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  not  one  Prussian  who 
has  fallen  has  felt  himself  a  tool  or  a  dupe,  played  upon  by  superior 
cunning  and  selfishness. 

There  is  not  a  soldier  of  that  grand  army  who  has  had  less  than 
ten  years'  schooling  (most  of  them  have  had  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
years);  their  bodies  have  been  as  carefully  trained  as  their  minds, 
and  by  teachers  who  make  this  their  life  business. 

What  would  you  expect  from  a  country  that  has  an  army  of  three 
million  children  at  school,  whether  they  wish  to  go  or  not  and 
whether  their  parents  wish  them  to  go  or  not,  and  for  a  Government 
that  provides  for  this  largely  by  devoting  to  it  the  heaviest  outlay  of 
its  resources  ? 

Would  you  expect  Prussia  to  be  beaten,  when  you  know  that 
until  the  year  1831,  France  had  made  no  provision  for  the  instruc 
tion  of  her  millions,  had  no  public  elementary  schools  when  Guizot 
sent  Victor  Cousin  to  study  the  school  system  of  Prussia,  with  a 
view  to  its  adoption  ? 

Power  is  cumulative,  and  although  Napoleon  III  has  nobly  fostered 
education  and  science,  he  started  at  a  disadvantage.  Poor,  be- 
leagurecl  Paris  trembles  to-day  in  greater  terror  of  the  ignorant  and 

*  Abstract  of  a  lecture  before  the  State  Teachers'  Institute,  September,  1870, 
by  Ezra  S.  Carr,  M.D. 


108  INSTITUTE  ADDKESSES. 

therefore  brutalized  rabble,  shut  in  to  watch  and  wait  -with  her 
her  deliverance  or  her  doom,  than  the  foe  outside  her  gates. 

I  confess  I  am  anxious  that  our  own  Government  should  keep  on 
the  best  of  terms  with  those  Germans.  I  should  dread  a  tyranny 
like  that  of  "Wurtemburg,  which  permits  no  child  to  learn  a  trade, 
enter  any  occupation,  or  receive  any  pay  for  any  service  whatsoever, 
until  he  has  answered  the  demands  of  the  school  law.  Imagine  the 
consternation  which  the  sudden  enforcement  of  such  a  regulation 
would  cause  in  America,  in  low  and  in  high  places!  As  an  offset  to 
this  terror,  imagine  what  it  would  be  for  you,  teachers,  to  be 
enrolled  among  the  "  high  mightinesses,"  to  be  ranked  and  consid 
ered  as  the  most  valuable  civil  servitors  of  the  State,  with  honorable 
compensation  and  just  promotions  for  your  terms  of  service,  and  a 
comfortable  pension  when  you  are  old. 

Do  not  think  I  am  praising  overmuch,  and  covertly  keeping  back 
a  part  of  the  truth.  Germany  has  outdone  the  world  in  education, 
and  we  have  outdone  Germany  in  just  one  respect!  We  have  dis 
covered  and  put  in  practice  a  great  natural  law  of  education,  viz., 
that  women  are  better  teachers  than  men.  And  they  only  need  the^ 
higher  education  from  which  they  have  been  so  long  excluded  to 
make  their  superiority  manifest. 

The  educational  creed  of  Prussia  does  not  take  long  in  the  reading. 

Article  one  declares  the  sacred  right  of  every  individual  to  the 
best  means  of  development. 

Article  two,  the  value  to  the  State,  to  her  wealth,  power  and  civ 
ilization,  of  universal  education. 

Article  three  declares  the  realization  of  this  impossible  without 
the  agency  of  a  great  profession,  acting  concertedly,  wisely  and 
zealously  together,  and  that  the  members  of  this  profession  must  be 
made  to  feel  their  position  honorable,  secure  and  independent. 

Unless  you  are  dissenters,  I  ask  you  to  listen  patiently  to  some 
thing  I  have  to  say  about  industrial  education,  for  your  help  is  very 
much  needed  in  creating  a  desire  for  it. 

On  this  new  field  of  California,  where  we  have  only  begun  our 
work,  and  where  there  is  only  a  glimmering  apprehension  on  the 
part  of  the  public  of  what  this  business  of  education  is,  and  what  it 
is  worth,  the  informing  and  propelling  influence  must  go  out  from 
the  body  of  teachers  themselves.  Let  us  get  a  clear  idea  of  the 
scope  and  value  of  our  work,  and  of  the  wants  of  the  people;  let  us, 
with  firm  and  strong  convictions  of  what  is  essential  to  the  growth 
and  prosperity  of  the  State,  be  prepared  to  meet  the  most  unin 
formed  with  some  practical,  tangible  knowledge  of  the  things  with 
which  they  have  to  deal,  and  we  shall  create  a  public  opinion,  a 
demand  for  education,  that  will  advance  quite  as  fast  as  we  can  keep 
up  with  it.  Our  political  system  is  of  such  a  kind  as  to  require  this 
kind  of  effort.  And  our  public  school  system,  from  the  university 
to  the  primary  school,  must  be  a  unit  in  motive  and  in  method,  in 
this  respect. 

The  question  has  become  one  of  vital  importance  to  the  nation, 
"  How  shall  we  educate  our  youth  so  that  there  shall  be  more  farm 
ers  and  mechanics  in  the  land,  and  how  shall  we  raise  these  pursuits 
to  the  rank  they  deserve  in  the  hierarchy  of  industries?"  It  is  in 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  109 

vain  to  eulogize  a  calling  whose  votaries  forsake  it  with  every  oppor-  V 
trinity,  and  whose  children  turn  from  it  with  disgust.  Congress 
might  give  every  acre  of  the  public  domain  to  found  Agricultural 
Colleges,  making  them  not  only  free,  but  giving  a  bonus  of  land  as 
a  reward  for  attendance,  and  still  their  halls  will  remain  empty, 
until  the  relations  of  agriculture  to  human  welfare  and  to  human 
nature  are  understood  and  carried  into  practice — until  the  farmer, 
out  of  his  sense  of  privation,  loss,  failure  and  onesidedness,  shall 
resolve  that  his  children  be  as  carefully  cultured  as  his  fields;  that 
they  shall  grow  up  in  pleasant  homes,  and  lay  up,  if  not  dollars  and 
cents,  capital  for  after-pleasures  of  thought  and  memory. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  little  wherein  this  business  of  agriculture 
fails  to  meet  the  higher  demands  of  human  nature;  and  why,  in 
California,  we  are  looking  to  the  lower  classes  of  foreigners  for  the 
permanent  tillers  of  the  soil. 

The  educational  \vorld  has  been  aroused  within  the  last  few  years 
to  find  a  remedy  for  the  growing  aversion  of  American  37outh  for 
pursuits  most  vital  to  the  public  welfare.  What  are  the  influences 
tending  to  the  demoralization  of  young  men  by  leading  them  to  look 
to  speculative  enterprises,  instead  of  steady  industry,  as  a  means  of 
support?  Is  it  the  monotony  of  country  life,  or  a  want  of  the  right 
kind  of  education  ? 

How  shall  we  create  in  this  country,  as  there  is  in  Europe,  a 
higher  attachment  to  the  land  than  springs  from  a  sordid  self-inter 
est,  and  make  our  paternal  acres  represent  here,  as  they  do  in  older 
lands,  social  standing,  intelligence,  leisure  and  culture? 

By  educating  our  youth,  boys  and  girls,  into  a  respect  for  these 
pursuits,  and  by  multiplying  in  every  possible  way  the  social  enjoy 
ments  and  embellishments  of  country  life. 

The  disadvantages  of  agricultural  pursuits  were  clearly  stated, 
and  the  remedies  by  which  they  can  be  overcome;  social  and  isolated 
industries  and  their  results  were  contrasted,  and  the  methods  of 
uniting  the  abstract  and  practical  sides  of  industrial  education  fully 
presented.  In  a  rapid  survey  of  European  progress,  we  were  shown 
to  what  the  immense  recent  development  of  Prussian  power  is 
mainly  due. 

A  concise  report  of  what  has  been  done  in  America  by  Michigan 
and  other  States,  what  has  been  done  by  Congress,  and  what  Cali 
fornia  will  be  able  to  accomplish  for  industrial  education,  if  her 
people  appreciate  in  any  just  degree  the  value  of  that  system  of  free 
instruction  which,  from  the  common  school  to  the  university,  guaran 
tees  to  every  child  the  general  culture  and  special  training  necessary 
to  energize  and  economize,  to  lighten  and  enlighten  all  labor,  until 
the  measure  of  usefulness  shall  come  to  be  the  measure  of  greatness. 


2.  DUTIES  OF  THE  STATE  TO  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.* 

At  a  time  like  the  present,  when  the  nation  is  one  vast  camp  of 
instruction  for  armed  men;  when  argument  has  ended  in  the  right 
of  appeal  to  trial  by  battle;  when  the  one  absorbing  topic  of  each 
successive  day  is  the  brief  telegram,  telling  of  victories  won,  or  of 

*  Bead  before  the  State  Teachers'  Institute,  1863. 


110  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

hope  deferred;  when  our  eyes  turn  with  longing  gaze  across  the 
Sierras  to  catch  the  first  breaking  of  the  war  clouds  which  fringe 
their  summits — it  might  seem,  at  first  thought,  that  a  convention 
like  this,  which  waives  all  military  and  political  considerations,  and 
relates  only  to  the  peaceful  and  almost  unseen  workings  of  the  pub 
lic  schools,  would  be  inopportune,  and  out  of  harmony  with  the 
spirit  of  the  times. 

But  when  we  stop  to  ponder,  and  consider  the  vital  relations 
which  public  schools  hold  to  our  national  life;  when  we  consider 
the  agency  which  they  have  had  in  supplying  the  intelligence  and 
the  patriotism  of  the  army;  when  we  begin  to  feel,  amid  the  terri 
ble  realities  of  war,  that  the  schools  have  been  the  nurseries  of 
loyalty,  and  the  lack  of  them,  the  right  arm  of  treason;  when  we 
begin  to  fully  realize  that  the  trite  truism,  "  The  only  safety  of  a  Be- 
publican  Government  is  in  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  people," 
is  no  abstraction — there  is  a  deep  significance  in  this  meeting,  and 
in  all  such  conventions,  as  concerning  the  future  stability  of  the 
Government,  and  the  integrity,  power,  glory  and  unity  of  the  nation. 
Constitutions  and  laws  may  be  bequeathed  by  one  generation  to  its 
successors;  but  patriotism,  intelligence  and  morality  die  with  each 
generation,  and  involve  the  necessity  of  continual  culture  and  edu 
cation.  Public  opinion,  the  sum  of  the  intelligence  of  the  citizens  of 
the  nation,  constructs  and  modifies  all  constitutions,  and  breathes 
vitality  into  all  laws  by  which  the  people  are  governed. 

Let  the  public  opinion  of  one  generation  become  demoralized  by 
ignorance,  or  by  passion  resulting  from  ignorance,  and  any  consti 
tution  is  like  gossamer  to  restrain  and  bind  it. 

It  is  an  axiom  in  education  that  the  great  majority  of  the  people 
can  be  well  educated  only  by  a  system  of  Free  Public  Schools,  sup 
ported  by  law,  in  which  the  property  of  the  State  is  taxed  to  educate 
the  children  of  the  State. 

"  The  first  object  of  a  free  people,"  says  Daniel  Webster,  "  is  the 
preservation  of  their  liberty."  In  a  government  where  the  people 
are  not  only  in  theory  the  source  of  all  powers,  but  in  actual  prac 
tice  are  called  upon  to  administer  the  laws,  it  is  evident  that  some 
degree  of  education  is  indispensably  necessary  to  enable  them  to 
discharge  their  duties,  maintain  and  administer  the  laws,  and  to  re 
tain  their  constitutional  rights.  All  nations  recognize  the  neces 
sity  of  educating  the  governing  classes.  In  a  Government  like  ours, 
either  we  must  have  officers  unqualified  for  their  duties,  or  we  must 
be  ruled  by  an  educated  and  privileged  aristocracy,  or  we  must  pro 
vide  a  system  of  public  instruction  which  shall  furnish  a  supply  of 
intelligent  citizens  capable  of  discharging  their  various  official  trusts 
with  honesty  and  efficiency. 

If  left  to  their  own  unaided  efforts,  a  great  majority  of  the  people 
wrill  fail  through  want  of  means  to  property  educate  their  children; 
another  class,  with  means  at  command,  will  fail  through  want  of  in 
terest.  The  people,  then,  can  be  educated  only  by  a  system  of  Free  . 
Schools,  supported  by  taxation,  and  controlled  directly  by  the 
people. 

The  early  settlers  of  our  country  recognized  this  vital  principle 
by  providing  by  law  for  Free  Schools,  and  by  making  schools  and 
taxation  as  inseparably  connected  as  taxation  and  representation. 


INSTITUTE  ADDKESSES.  Ill 

The  Puritans  of  Massachusetts  Bay  had  just  escaped  from  a  gov 
ernment  which  provided  only  for  the  education  of  the  higher  classes; 
•which  declared,  in  the  words  of  Charles  the  First,  that  "  the  peo 
ple's  right  was  only  to  have  their  life  and  their  goods  their  own,  a 
share  in  the  government  being  nothing  pertaining  to  them;"  and  in 
nothing  does  far-seeing  sagacity  of  those  self-reliant  men  appear 
more  conspicuous  than  in  the  wise  forecast  which  led  them  to  pro 
vide  for  the  general  diffusion  of  the  elements  of  knowledge  as  the 
basis  of  a  principle  which  is  expressed  in  the  Constitution  of  Massa 
chusetts,  as  opposed  to  the  declaration  of  Charles  the  First,  in  the 
following  words;  "  The  people  of  this  Commonwealth  have  the  sole 
and  exclusive  right  of  governing  themselves  as  a  free,  sovereign  and 
independent  State." 

A  section  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony  Laws  of  1642  reads  as 
follows : 

"  Forasmuch  as  the  good  education  of  children  is  of  singular  be 
hoof  and  benefit  to  any  Commonwealth;  and  whereas,  many  parents 
and  masters  are  too  indulgent  and  negligent  of  their  duty  in  that 
kind;  it  is  ordered  that  the  Selectmen  of  every  town  shall  have  a 
vigilant  eye  over  their  brethren  and  neighbors,  to  see,  first:  that 
none  of  them  shall  suffer  so  much  barbarism  in  any  of  their  families 
as  not  to  teach,  by  themselves,  or  others,  their  children  and  apprentices  so 
much  learning  as  may  enable  them  perfectly  to  read  the  English  tongue, 
upon  penalty  of  twenty  shillings  for  each  neglect  therein." 

In  1647,  this  law  was  followed  by  another,  to  the  end,  in  the 
words  of  the  statute,  <(  that  learning  may  not  be  buried  in  the  grave  of 
our  fathers  in  the  Church  and  the  Commonwealth,"  which  required  every 
town  of  fifty  families  to  provide  a  teacher  to  instruct  all  the  chil 
dren  of  the  town  in  reading  and  writing,  and  every  town  of  a  hun 
dred  families  to  set  up  a  grammar  school,  with  a  teacher  compe 
tent  to  fit  young  men  for  the  university;  the  expense  of  these  scliools 
to  be  borne  by  the  town,  or  by  the  parents,  as  the  town  should 
determine. 

In  1692,  the  law  provided  that  these  schools  should  be  supported 
exclusively  by  tax  levied  on  all  the  property  of  the  town. 

The  Colony  Laws  of  New  Haven,  1665,  provided  that  the  "Depu 
ties  of  the  Court  "  should  have  "  a  vigilant  eye  "  over  all  parents  and 
masters,  "  that  all  their  children  and  apprentices,  as  they  grow  capa 
ble,  may,  through  God's  blessing,  obtain  at  least  so  much  learning 
as  to  be  able  duly  to  read  the  Scriptures,  and  other  good  aod  prof 
itable  printed  books  in  the  English  tongue,  being  their  native 
language."* 

If  this  law  was  not  complied  with,  the  delinquent  was  fined  ten 
shillings;  and  if  after  three  months  the  offender  failed  to  comply, 
the  fine  was  doubled;  and  then  the  magistrates  were  empowered  to 
take  such  children  and  apprentices,  and  place  them  till  they  became 
of  age,  "with  such  others  who  shall  better  educate  and  govern 
them,  both  for  the  public  conveniency,  and  for  the  particular  good  of 
said  children  and  apprentices." 

In  1669,  the  Colony  of  Plymouth  passed  the  following  law: 

"Forasmuch  as  the  maintenance  of  good  literature  doth  much  tend  to 

*  Probably  the  first  American  compulsory  school  law. 


112  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

the  advancement  of  the  weal  and  flourishing  state  of  societies  and  re 
publics,  this  Court  doth  therefore  order,  that  in  whatever  township 
in  this  government,  consisting  of  fifty  families  or  upwards,  any  meet 
man  shall  be  obtained  to  teach  a  Grammar  School,  such  township 
shall  allow  at  least  twelve  pounds,  to  be  raised  by  rate  on  all  the  in 
habitants." 

The  following  is  the  old  Colonial  Connecticut  Law  for  "  appoint 
ing,  encouraging  and  supporting  schools:" 

"  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Governor,  Council  and  Representatives,  in 
General  Court  assembled,  and  by  the  Authority  of  the  same:  That 
Every  Town  within  this  Colony,  wherein  there  is  but  one  Ecclesias 
tical  Society,  and  wherein  there  are  Seventy  House  Holders  or 
Families,  or  upwards,  shall  be  at  least  Eleven  Months  in  each  Year 
Provided  with  and  shall  Keep  and  Maintain  One  good  and  sufficient 
School  for  the  Teaching  and  Instructing  of  Youth  and  Children  to 
Bead  and  Write,  which  School  shall  be  steadily  Supplied  with,  and 
Kept,  by  a  Master,  sufficiently  and  suitably  Qualified  for  that 
Service. 

"  And,  also,  there  shall  be  a  Grammar  School  Set  up,  Kept  and 
constantly  maintained  in  every  Head  or  County  town  of  the  several 
Counties,  that  are,  or  shall  be  Made  in  the  Colony,  Which  shall  be 
steadily  Kept  by  some  Discreet  Person  of  good  Conversation,  and 
well  Skilled  in  and  Acquainted  with  the  Learned  Languages,  es 
pecially  Greek  and  Latin." 

For  the  support  of  these  schools,  a  tax  of  "Forty  Shillings" 
upon  every  "Thousand  Pounds  in  the  Lists  of  the  Respective 
Towns,"  was  levied  and  collected. 

Many  of  the  wealthy  counties  of  California  levy,  this  year,  a 
smaller  school  tax  than  was  paid  by  the  hard-fisted  colonists  of  Con 
necticut. 

The  following  preamble  to  an  act  shows  the  germ  of  our  na 
tional  policy  of  reserving  certain  sections  of  public  lands  for  school 
purposes : 

"And  Whereas,  the  several  Towns  and  Societies  in  this  Colony, 
by  Virtue  of  an  Act  of  this  Court,  made  in  May,  in  the  Year  of  our 
Lord  One  Thousand  Seven  Hundred  and  Thirty-Three,  Received 
by  their  Committees  Respectively,  for  that  purpose  appointed,  con 
siderable  Monies,  or  Bills  of  Public  Credit,  Raised  by  the  sale  of 
certain  Townships,  Laid  out  in  the  Western  lands,  then  so  Called, 
to  be  Let  out,  and  the  Interest  thereof,  Improved  for  the  Support 
of  the  Respective  Schools  aforesaid,  for  Ever,  and  to  no  other  Use: 
Be  it  enacted/'  etc. 

In  1785  an  ordinance  respecting  the  disposition  of  the  public 
lands  was  introduced  into  the  old  Congress,  referred  to  a  commit 
tee,  and  passed  May  20,  which  provided  that  the  sixteenth  section 
of  every  township  should  be  reserved  "for  the  maintenance  of  pub 
lic  Schools." 

The  celebrated  ordinance  of  1787,  which  confirmed  the  provisions 
of  the  land  ordinance  of  1785,  further  declared  that  "MOEALITY  and 
KNOWLEDGE,  being  necessary  to  good  government  and  the  happiness  of 
mankind,  SCHOOLS,  and  the  means  of  EDUCATION,  shall  be  forever  encour 
aged." 


INSTITUTE  ADDKESSES.  113 

As  the  results  of  this  noble  policy,  more  than  fifty  millions  of 
acres  of  the  public  lands  have  been  set  apart  for  the  purposes  of 
education. 

These  few  references  to  Colonial  laws  show  how  early  in  the  his 
tory  of  our  country  these  two  fundamental  principles  were  enun 
ciated  and  adopted  :  That  it  is  the  duty  of  a  Republican  Government  3 
as  an  act  of  setf -preservation,  to  educate  alt  ctasses  of  the  people,  and 
that  the  property  of  the  State  should  be  taxed  to  pay  for  that  education. 

Let  us  consider  the  first  axiom :  That  it  is  the  duty  of  a  Republican 
Government,  as  an  act  of  self-preservation,  to  educate  all  classes  of  the 
people. 

In  a  representative  government  all  forms  of  constitutional  law 
spring  from  the  people,  and  are  changed  at  will  by  public  opinion. 
If  that  is  demoralized,  public  officers  will  be  bad,  and  the  Govern 
ment  will  be  bad.  If  public  opinion  is  ignorant,  demagogues  will 
warp  it  to  suit  partisan  purposes.  The  fountain  cannot  rise  higher 
than  its  source ;  and  the  administration  of  the  laws  will  not  rise 
above  the  level  of  the  morality  of  the  masses. 

Consider  for  a  moment  the  various  civil  duties  a  citizen  of  the 
State  may  be  called  upon  to  perform.  First  and  highest  is  the  duty 
which  is  attached  to  the  right  of  elective  franchise.  Intelligence 
must  preside  at  the  ballot-box,  or  it  becomes  a  partisan  machine. 
The  elector  is  virtually  a  tool  and  slave  just  so  far  as  he  is  ignorant 
of  the  questions  on  which  he  votes.  If  ignorant  voters  elect  knaves 
to  office,  the  State  pays  the  just  penalty  of  neglecting  to  educate 
her  citizens.  Every  citizen  is  liable  to  be  called  to  the  jury-box. 
Are  those  light  questions  which  twelve  men  are  called  upon  to  de 
cide  ?  Questions  of  life  or  death,  of  character  or  reputation,  of  for 
tune,  of  real  estate?  Can  ignorance  and  prejudice  decide  those 
questions  legally  and  equitably  ?  Would  the  real  estate  owner,  with 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars  at  stake,  on  which,  perhaps,  he  has  un 
willingly  paid  a  school  tax,  choose  to  trust  the  verdict  to  an  illiter 
ate  jury  in  preference  to  one  educated  in  the  schools  which  his 
property  has  in  part  maintained? 

Consider,  again,  all  the  minor  official  trusts  which  an  ordinary 
citizen  is  called  upon  to  fill — district,  township,  and  county  offices. 
Taken  together,  they  make  up  no  small  share  of  the  administra 
tion  of  government. 

In  the  legislative  department,  is  it  safe  to  elect  men  poorly  edu 
cated  to  frame  the  laws  ?  Any  citizen  may  aspire  to  and  reach  the 
place,  and  the  only  safeguard  is  the  general  education  of  all  citi 
zens.  And  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  while  laws  may  remain 
unchanged,  the  intellectual  and  moral  qualifications  necessary  for 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  a  citizen  of  the  State  cannot  be  trans 
mitted,  like  property,  from  father  to  son.  They  are  personal,  not 
hereditary,  and  must  be  taught  anew  to  each  generation.  The 
work  of  the  schools  is  never  done,  and  property  can  never  escape 
continual  taxation.  This  general  education  of  the  citizens  of  the 
State  can  only  be  secured  by  Public  Schools.  The  rich  will  be 
educated  under  any  circumstances;  education  gives  power — power, 
an  aristocracy. 

But  the  Public  Schools  must  be  of  a  character  which  will  attract 


114  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

the  children  of  the  rich  as  well  as  afford  an  opportunity  to  the  poor. 
Such  schools  prevent  the  formation  of  castes  and  classes  in  society. 
The  only  aristocracy  which  they  recognize  is  that  of  talent — an  aris 
tocracy  which  always  commands  respect  and  wields  power.  Said  a 
Boston  teacher  once,  to  a  visitor:  "That  boy  who  has  just  received 
the  first  prize  for  scholarship,  is  the  son  of  a  wood-sawyer;  and  the 
boy  who  has  won  the  second  prize  is  the  son  of  the  Governor  of 
Massachusetts. " 

It  is  often  objected  that  Public  Schools  cannot  educate  high* 
enough.  Dr.  Bushnell  says  : 

"The  chartered  privileges  of  education  furnished  by  our  colleges 
can  be  more  highly  valued  by  no  one  than  myself.  But  still  it 
should  be  understood  that  an  educated  man  is  a  MAN  ALIVE.  Many 
a  boy  who  does  not  know  Latin  from  Dutch,  and  has  never  seen 
any  university  but  his  mother's  and  the  District  School,  having  at 
tained  to  the  distinction  of  a  living  soul,  is,  in  the  highest  sense,  • 
educated.  Could  this,  which  is  the  only  just  view  of  the  case,  be 
once  established  in  the  public  mind,  it  would  do  much  to  encourage 
attempts  at  self-education,  and  would  greatly  endear  the  system  of 
Common  Schools. 

' '  Many  years  ago,  in  an  obscure  country  school  in  Massachusetts, 
an  humble,  conscientious,  but  industrious  boy  was  to  be  seen,  and 
it  was  evident  to  all  that  his  soul  was  beginning  to  act  and  thirst  for 
some  intellectual  good.  He  was  alive  to  knowledge.  Next  we  see 
him  an  apprentice  on  the  shoemaker's  bench,  with  a  book  spread 
open  before  him.  Next  we  see  him  put  forth,  on  foot,  to  settle  in  a 
remote  town  in  this  State,  and  pursue  his  fortunes  there  as  a  shoe 
maker,  his  tools  being  carefully  sent  on  their  way  before  him.  In 
a  short  time  he  is  busied  in  the  post  of  County  Surveyor  for  Litch- 
field  County,  being  the  most  accomplished  mathematician  in  that 
section  of  the  State.  Before  he  is  twenty-five  years  old  we  find  him 
supplying  the  astronomical  matter  of  an  almanac  published  in  New 
York.  Next  he  is  admitted  to  the  bar,  a  self-qualified  lawyer.  Now 
he  is  found  on  the  bench  of  the  Superior  Court.  Next  he  becomes 
a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress.  There  he  is  made  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Committee  of  Six  to  prepare  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence.  He  continues  a  member  of  Congress  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  and  is  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  most  useful  men  and 
wisest  counsellors  of  the  land.  At  length,  having  discharged  every 
office  with  a  perfect  ability,  and  honored,  in  every  sphere,  the  name 
of  a  Christian,  he  dies  regretted  and  loved  by  his  State  and  Nation. 
Now  this  Roger  Sherman,  I  maintain,  was  an  educated  man.  Do 
you  ask  for  other  examples?  I  name,  then,  Washington,  who  had 
only  a  common  domestic  education.  I  name  Franklin;  I  name  Eit- 
tenhouse ;  I  name  "West ;  I  name  Fulton ;  I  name  Bowditch ;  all 
Common  School  men,  and  some  of  them  scarcely  that,  but  yet  all 
educated  men,  because  they  were  MADE  ALIVE.  Besides  these,  I  know 
not  any  other  seven  names  of  our  countrymen  that  can  weigh  against 
them.  These  are  truly  American  names,  and  there  are  the  best  of 
reasons  to  believe  that  a  generous  system  of  public  education  would 
produce  many  such.  Let  them  appear,  and  if  they  shall  embody  so 
much  force,  so  much  real  freshness  and  sinew  of  character  as  to  de- 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  115 

cide  for  themselves  what  shall  be  called  an  education,  or  shall  even 
be  able  to  laugh  at  the  dwarfed  significance  of  college  learning,  I 
know  not  that  we  shall  have  any  reasons  for  repining." 

To  this  roll  of  honor  we  might  add  a  long  array  of  public  men  and 
of  scholars  whose  first  impulse  to  self-education  was  received  in  the 
Public  Schools:  Henry  Clay,  Andrew  Jackson,  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
Lewis  Cass,  Abraham  Lincoln,  N.  P.  Banks,  Elihu  Burritt,  Horace 
Mann,  and  many  others. 

The  second  proposition  is,  that  the  property  of  the  State  should  be 
taxed  to  educate  the  children  of  the  State.  The  only  just  ground  for 
taking  any  man's  money  for  a  public  purpose  is  that  the  public  good 
requires  it.  But,  says  some  stiff-necked  taxpayer,  "I  have  edu 
cated  my  children  at  my  own  expense;5'  or,  "I  have  no  children  to 
educate;  why  should  I  be  taxed  to  pay  for  educating  the  children  of 
others  ?" 

But  children  arrived  at  the  age  of  maturity  belong,  not  to  the 
parents,  but  to  the  State,  to  society,  to  the  country.  Government 
calls  on  them  for  the  defense  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws. 
Take  the  half  a  million  of  men  now  in  the  army;  what  are  they 
doing  but  defending  the  property  which  has  been  taxed  to  educate 
them  ?  Without  them,  what  would  property  be  worth  ? 

Again:  Every  able-bodied  laborer  adds  to  the  wealth  of  the  com 
munity;  for  the  real  wealth  of  a  State  lies  in  its  amount  of  produc 
tive  labor.  Educated  labor  is  more  productive  than  ignorant  labor. 
The  testimony  of  all  the  mills,  factories  and  workshops  of  the  wroiid 
is,  that  intelligent  artisans  are  far  more  profitable  than  ignorant 
ones.  .Raise  the  standard  of  education  among  working-men,  and 
the  productive  value  of  property  is  increased.  Ignorance  and  idle 
ness  are  companions;  vice  and  ignorance  are  companions.  Experi 
ence  shows  that  the  education  of  the  masses  affords  better  protec 
tion  to  good  morals,  and  more  security  to  the  rights  of  property, 
than  all  the  criminal  enactments  that  can  be  made  or  the  prisons 
that  can  be  built.  Intelligence  makes  labor  respectable  and  honor 
able.  Brute  labor — the  labor  of  the  menial — is  no  more  honorable 
to-day  than  when  the  unwilling  millions  toiled  on  the  Pyramids  of 
Egypt.  The  intelligent  brain  gives  dignity  to  the  toil-hardened 
hand.  But  we  may  base  the  necessity  for  general  education  on  still 
broader  grounds.  Every  man  born  into  the  world  to  enrich  it  by 
his  labor,  claims  an  education  as  an  inalienable  right,  as  much  as 
liberty,  food,  air  or  light.  Civilization  is  the  result  of  the  labors 
of  all  generations  which  have  existed  upon  the  earth.  Our  laws, 
our  institutions,  'books,  arts,  sciences  and  inventions,  are  mostly 
the  product  of  generations  which  have  preceded  us.  What  a  child 
like,  generation  ours  would  be  were  the  printing-press  and  steam 
power  swept  out  of  existence  !  The-oeneration  now  living  strikes 
its  roots  deep  into  the  mental  strata^  of  the  globe,  and  draws  its 
nutriment  from  all  past  generations.  As  the  miners  gather  the 
mineral  wealth  of  our  State,  upheaved  by  the  convulsions  of 
great  geological  epochs  which  thrust  up  the  broken  ribs  of  the 
earth  through  granite  crusts,  so  do  we  enrich  ourselves  with  the 
wealth  of  past  time  uplifted  by  the  convulsions  of  nations.  Having 
been  educated  by  the  labors  of  preceding  generations,  we  cannot 


116  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

escape  the  responsibility  of  educating  those  who  are  to  succeed  us. 
Every  man  that  is  indebted  to  society  for  an  education,  is  in  duty 
bound  to  discharge  that  debt  by  educating  the  child  who  is  to  suc 
ceed  him. 

EDUCATION  IK  OTHEE  COUNTKIE3. 

Before  considering  in  detail  the  condition  of  education  in  the  dif 
ferent  States  of  the  Union,  let  us  glance  at  the  national  systems  of 
instruction  in  the  countries  of  the  Old  World. 

Germany  may  justly  claim  the  credit  of  first  thoroughly  organiz 
ing  a  system  of  public  education,  under  the  administration  of  the 
civil  power.  The  characteristic  features  of  the  German  schools 
are,  the  power  of  the  Government  to  compel  attendance;  provision 
to  make  the  schools,  not  free  to  all,  but  accessible  to  all;  and  excellent 
methods  of  instruction,  resulting  from  Normal  Schools;  and  the 
making  of  teaching  a  life  profession. 

Music  is  a  prominent  part  of  education  in  Germany,  and  the 
strong  national  pride,  love  of  country,  and  love  of  liberty,  of  the 
Germans,  is  born  in  schools,  where  the  patriotic  songs  of  the  nation 
become  as  familiar  as  the  alphabet  of  their  mother  tongue. 

England,  with  all  her  time-honored  Universities  and  endowed 
Public  Schools,  is  far  behind  Germany  in  her  elementary  schools 
for  the  common  people.  Lord  Brougham,  in  1836,  advocated  a  na 
tional  system  of  Public  Schools,  but  the  bill  failed  on  account  of  the 
bitter  controversies  of  the  religious  sects,  and  the  children  were  allowed 
to  grow  up  in  ignorance  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  an  education 
without  the  catechisms.  In  advocating  this  bill,  Lord  Brougham 
said: 

"  Let  the  people  be  taught,  say  I.  The  school  is  closed,  but  the 
penitentiary  yawns  day  and  night  to  ingulf  its  victims;  the  utterly 
execrable,  the  altogether  abominable  hulk  lies  moored  in  the  face  of 
day,  which  it  darkens,  riding  on  the  face  of  the  waters,  which  it 
stains  with  every  unnatural  excess  of  infernal  pollution,  triumphant 
over  mortals/' 

Macaulay  said,  in  1847,  in  the  House  of  Commons: 

"  Educate  the  people,  was  the  first  admonition  addressed  by  Penn 
to  the  commonwealth  he  founded;  educate  the  people,  was  the  last 
legacy  of  Washington;  educate  the  people,  was  the  unceasing  exhor 
tation  of  Jefferson.  Yes,  of  Jefferson  himself,  and  I  quote  his 
authority  with  peculiar  favor,  for  of  all  public  men  that  the  world 
ever  saw,  he  was  the  one  whose  greatest  delight  it  was  to  pare  down 
the  functions  of  Governments  to  the  lowest  possible  point,  and  to 
leave  the  freest  possible  scope  for  the  exercise  of  individual  rights." 

CHARLES   DICKENS. 

Charles  Dickens  deserves  to  be  classed  among  English  educa 
tional  reformers,  for  his  caricatures  of  English  schoolmasters,  in  the 
character  of  Squeers,  and  of  boarding  schools  conducted  on  the 
starvation  system  of  that  motherly  matron,  Mrs:  Squeers,  effected  a 
salutary  reform.  The  merciless  wit  of  Dickens  has  never  spared 
pompous  pretensions  to  learning,  nor  pedantic  methods  of  in- 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  117 

struction.  How  capitally  he  hits  off  what  is  termed  "practical 
teaching:'3 

"  '  Now,  what  I  want  is  Facts.  Teach  -these  boys  and  girls 
nothing  but  facts.  Facts  alone  are  wanted  in  life.  Plant  noth 
ing  else,  and  root  out  everything  else.  Stick  to  facts.5  The 
emphasis  of  the  speaker  was  helped  by  the  speaker's  square 
wall  of  a  forehead,  which  had  his  eyebrows  for  its  base,  and 
his  eyes  found  commodious  cellarage  in  two  dark  caves  over- 
hadowed  by  the  wall.  The  emphasis  was  helped  by  the  speak 
er's  mouth,  which  was  wide,  thin  and  hard  set.  The  emphasis  was 
helped  by  the  speaker's  voice,  which  was  inflexible,  dry  and  dicta 
torial.  The  speaker's  obstinate  carriage,  square  coat,  square  legs, 
square  shoulders, — nay,  his  very  neckcloth  trained  to  take  him  by 
the  throat  with  an  unaccommodating  grasp,  like  a  stubborn  fact,  as 
it  was, — all  helped  the  emphasis.  '  In  this  life  we  want  nothing  but 
Facts,  Sir,  nothing  but  Facts."' 

Gradgrind  was  a  teacher  with  "  a  rule  and  a  pair  of  scales,  and 
the  multiplication  table  always  in  his  pocket,  Sir,  ready  to  weigh 
and  measure  any  parcel  of  human  nature,  and  tell  you  exactly  what 
it  comes  to." 

Said  the  visitor,  eloquently  discoursing  "  to  the  little  vessels  ranged 
in  rows  ready  to  have  gallons  of  facts  poured  into  them  until  they 
were  full  to  the  brim:" 

"We  hope  to  have  before  long  a  Board  of  Fact,  composed 
of  commissioners  of  fact,  who  will  force  the  people  to  be  a 
people  of  fact,  and  nothing  but  fact.  You  are  not  to  have 
in  any  object  of  use  or  ornament  what  would  be  a  contra 
diction  in  fact.  You  don't  walk  upon  flowers  in  fact ;  you 
cannot  be  allowed  to  walk  upon  flowers  in  carpets.  You  never 
meet  with  quadrupeds  going  up  and  down  walls ;  you  must 
not  have  quadrupeds  represented  on  walls.  You  must  use,  for  all 
these  purposes,  combinations  and  modifications  of  mathematical 
figures,  which  are  susceptible  of  proof  and  demonstration.  This  is 
fact.  This  is  taste." 

In  the  school  of  facts,  Mr.  McChoakumchild  does  the  practical 
work: 

"He,  and  some  one  hundred  and  forty  other  schoolmasters,  had 
been  lately  turned  in  the  same  factory,  at  the  same  time,  on  the  same 
principles,  like  so  many  piano  forte  legs.  He  had  been  put  through 
an  immense  variety  of  paces,  and  had  answered  volumes  of  head- 
breaking  questions.  Orthography,  etymology,  syntax  and  prosody, 
biography,  astronomy,  geography  and  general  cosmography,  the 
sciences  of  compound  proportion,  algebra,  land  surveying  and 
levelling,  vocal  music  and  drawing  from  models,  were  all  at  the  ends 
of  his  ten  chilled  fingers. 

"  He  had  taken  the  bloom  off  the  higher  branches  of  mathematics 
and  physical  sciences,  French,  German,  Latin  and  Greek.  He  knew 
all  about  all  the  watersheds  of  all  the  world,  and  all  the  histories 
of  all  the  peoples,  and  all  the  names  of  all  the  rivers  and  mountains, 
and  the  productions,  manners  and  customs  of  all  the  countries,  and 
all  their  boundaries  and  bearings  on  the  two  and  thirty  points  of  the 
compass. 


118  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

' '  If  he  had  only  learnt  a  little  less,  how  infinitely  better  he  might 
have  taught  much  more  ! 

"There  were  five  young  Gradgrinds,  and  they  were  models,  every 
one.  No  little  Gradgrind  had  ever  seen  a  face  in  the  moon;  it  was 
up  in  the  moon  before  it  could  speak  distinctly.  No  little  Grad 
grind  had  ever  learnt  the  silly  jingle,  '  Twinkle,  twinkle,  little  star; 
how  I  wonder  what  you  are  !'  It  had  never  known  wonder  on  the 
subject,  having  at  five  years  dissected  the  Great  Bear  like  a  Pro 
fessor  Owen,  and  driven  Charles3  Wain  like  a  locomotive  engine 
driver.  No  little  Gradgrind  had  ever  associated  a  cow  in  a  field 
with  that  famous  cow  with  the  crumpled  horn  who  tossed  the  dog 
who  worried  the  cat  who  killed  the  rat  who  ate  the  malt,  or  with 
that  yet  more  famous  cow  who  swallowed  Tom  Thumb.  It  had 
never  heard  of  these  celebrities,  and  had  only  been  introduced  to 
a  cow  as  a  graminivorous,  ruminating  quadruped  with  several 
stomachs. 

"  'Bring  to  me/  says  Mr.  McChoakumchild,  'yonder  baby,  just 
able  to  walk,  and  I  will  engage  that  he  shall  never  wonder.' 

"And  Gradgrind,  as  he  surveyed  the  children,  seemed  a  kind  of 
.cannon,  loaded  to  the  muzzle  with  facts,  and  prepared  to  blow  them 
clean  out  of  the  regions  of  childhood  at  one  discharge." 

DISTINCTIVE   FEATURES    OF    OUR   SCHOOLS.    *' 

One  distinctive  feature  of  our  schools  is  the  general  education  of 
the  sexes  together.  I  believe  that  the  true  deference  paid  to  woman, 
and  the  chivalric  politeness  with  which  she  is  treated,  and  the  high 
standard  of  morality  generally  prevailing  in  the  United  States,  are 
the  results,  in  no  small  degree,  of  educating  boys  and  girls  together 
in  the  same  schools. 

Another  distinctive  feature  of  our  schools  is  their  freedom  from 
sectarian  instruction.  In  most  European  schools  direct  religious 
lessons  are  given  by  the  clergy  of  both  the  Catholic  and  the  Prot 
estant  churches ;  in  other  words,  the  schools  are  made  the  medium 
of  denominational  and  sectarian  teaching  of  creeds  and  catechisms. 

Happily  for  their  prosperity,  and  for  the  best  interests  of  vital  re 
ligion,  our  schools  are  removed  from  all  denominational  influences, 
and  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  without  note  or  comment,  affords  lit 
tle  occasion  for  sectarian  feeling.  All  are  left  free  to  form  their  own 
belief,  drawn  from  the  primal  source  of  Christianity. 

STATE    SCHOOL   TAX. 

A  State  tax  of  half  a  mill  on  the  dollar  has  been  levied  this  year 
for  carrying  on  the  work  of  building  up  the  State  Capitol ;  is  it  not 
quite  as  necessary  that  the  work  of  building  schoolhouses  should 
not  be  delayed  ?  Of  what  use  will  a  magnificent  State  Capitol  be, 
unless  educated  legislators  are  sent  there  to  fill  it  ?  The  State  is  to 
be  placed  on  a  military  footing.  It  is  equally  necessary  that  it  should 
be  placed  on  an  educational  footing,  for  educated  and  intelligent 
men  are  a  stronger  defense  than  Monitors,  Colurnbiads,  or  field  bat 
teries.  During  the  darkest  hour  of  our  national  adversity  the  work 
upon  the  dome  of  the  Capitol,  at  Washington,  was  carried  on  with- 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  119 

out  cessation,  even  under  the  roar  of  the  enemy's  cannon — a  fitting 
type  of  the  faith  of  the  people  in  the  permanence  of  our  Govern 
ment  and  the  stability  of  our  institutions.  Our  public  schools  are 
not  the  dome  of  the  Republic,  but  the  solid  and  everlasting  founda 
tions  on  which  is  based  the  permanence  and  integrity  of  the  nation. 

We,  of  this  generation,  fall  back  upon  the  sword  and  the  bayonet 
to  sustain  the  laws ;.  but  if  we  expect  our  children  to  be  capable  of 
self-government,  if  we  have  not  utterly  lost  our  faith  in  representa 
tive  institutions,  let  us  not  stultify  ourselves  by  failing  to  educate 
our  children. 

We  sprang  at  once  into  a  high  degree  of  civilization ;  our  mines 
yield  immediate  and  rich  returns  for  labor,  and  we  are  unworthy 
the  fairest  inheritance  the  sun  shines  upon  if  we  do  not  provide  a 
system  of  free  schools  which  shall  furnish  the  means  of  education 
to  every  child  as  liberally  as  nature  has  bestowed  her  mineral  wealth 
upon  our  land.  Shall  California,  just  entering  on  a  renewed  career 
of  prosperity  from  the  recent  discoveries  of  fabulous  mineral  wealth, 
contribute  less  for  schools  than  the  States  where  ice  and  granite 
take  the  place  of  silver  and  gold?  Is  the  table  of  ten  mills  one 
cent — ten  cents  one  dime — ten  dimes  one  dollar — ten  dollars  one 
eagle — the  only  ten  commandments  our  children  shall  be  taught  ? 
Is  the  national  ensign  of  the  Republic,  like  the  calf  of  molten  gold 
the  children  of  Israel  worshiped  in  the  wilderness,  to  be  made  a 
great  golden  buzzard  ?  Is  metal  to  be  valued  more  than  mind,  and 
"feet"  more  than  the  little  brain  engines  that  fill  the  schoolhouses? 

Shall  .we  pay  thousands  of  dollars  annually  for  blooded  stock,  and 
let  the  chilcfren  run  wild,  like  Spanish  cattle  ?  Shall  we  sink  costly 
artesian  wells  through  all  our  valleys,  and  keep  the  living  well- 
springs  of  knowledge  sealed  to  the  thirsty  children  ?  Shall  we  send 
to  Europe  for  choice  foreign  wines,  and  leave  the  children  to  grow 
up  like  the  wild  mustard  which  covers  our  fertile  lands  with  its  rank 
growth  ?  Shall  millions  be  expended  in  constructing  a  Pacific  Rail 
road,  and  the  State  fail  to  lay  the  solid  foundations  of  character  and 
intelligence  on  which  rest  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  genera 
tion  which  will  reap  the  benefits  of  that  great  highway  of  the  world  ? 
Shall  we  make  every  sacrifice  of  men  and  money  to  maintain  the 
Union  for  a  generation  unfitted,  through  want  of  education,  to  ap 
preciate  either  our  sacrifices,  or  the  value  of  the  inheritance  we 
leave  them  ? 

The  effect  of  our  abundant  wealth,  unless  its  possessors  shall  be 
educated  and  trained  to  use  it  in  intellectual  pleasures  and  refined 
enjoyments,  will  be  to  sweep  us  into  the  rankest  and  grossest  forms 
of  materialism. 

The  real  wealth  of  the  State  must  ever  be  her  educated  men  and 
intelligent  laborers.  Educated  mind  has  made  the  world  rich  by 
its  creative  power.  The  intelligent  minds  which  invented  the  steam 
ship,  the  cotton-gin,  and.  the  spinning-jenny,  created  for  the  wrorld 
a  wealth  greater  than  the  products  of  the  gold  mines  of  Australia 
and  California  together.  How  many  millions  of  dollars  is  Erics 
son's  invention  of  the  Monitor  worth  to  the  nation?  How  much 
the  invention  of  the  electric  telegraph  ?  How  much  the  hundreds 
of  labor-saving  machines  in  every  department  of  industry  ?  Igno- 


120  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

ranee  invents  none  of  these.  What  influence,  tell  me,  is  so.  mighty 
in  developing  the  intellect  of  society  as  the  common  school  ?  One 
single  great  mind,  inspired  in  the  public  school  with  a  love  for 
learning  —  without  which  it  might  have  slumbered  forever  —  may 
•  prove  of  more  value  to  the  State  than  the  entire  cost  of  schools  for 
half  a  century. 

What  influence  is  so  mighty  in  developing  this  creative  power  of 
society,  as  the  intelligence  imparted  in  the  public  schools  ?  Go  to 
the  Patent  Office  and  find  out  how  many  inventions  come  from  the 
land  of  common  schools,  and  how  many  from  the  States  that  have 
failed  to  establish  them. 

Not  many  years  ago,  a  member  of  the  British  Parliament  urged, 
as  a  reason  against  a  system  of  national  instruction,  "that  if  they 
deprived  the  farmers  of  the  labor  of  the  children,  agriculture  could 
not  be  carried  on,  because  there  was  no  machinery  to  get  the  weeds 
out  of  the  land." 

The  policy  of  New  England  always  has  been  to  send  the  children 
to  school,  and  let  Yankee  ingenuity  invent  machines  "to  get  the 
weeds  out  of  the  land." 

She  has  "saved"  enough  by  the  invention  of  "machines,"  con 
trived  by  laboring  men  educated  in  her  schools,  to  pay  for  the 
whole  cost  of  her  schools  twice  told. 

An  agricultural  report  says: 

"The  saving  to  the  country  from  the  improvements  in  plows 
alone,  within  the  last  twenty-five  years,  has  been  estimated  at  no 
less  than  ten  millions  of  dollars  a  year  in  the  work  of  teams,  and 
one  million  in  the  price  of  plows,  while  the  aggregate  of  the  crops 
is  supposed  to  have  been  increased  by  many  millions  of  bushels." 

The  machinery  brought  into  use,  since  1816,  is  estimated  to  be 
equal  to  the  labor  of  five  hundred  millions  of  men. 

Ignorance  never  invented  a  machine  to  save  the  labor  of  a  single 
man. 

The  life  of  the  nation  lies  not  in  a  few  great  men,  not  in  a  few 
brilliant  minds,  but  is  made  up  of  the  men  who  drive  the  plow, 
who  build  the  ships,  who  run  the  mills,  and  fill  the  machine  shops, 
who  build  the  locomotives  and  steam-engines,  who  construct  the 
railroads,  who  delve  in  the  mines,  who  cast  the  cannon,  who  man 
the  ironclads  and  gunboats,  who  shoulder  the  musket,  and  who  do 
the  fighting ;  these  constitute  the  life  and  strength  of  the  nation, 
and  it  is  with  all  these  men  that  the  public  schools  have  done  and 
are  now  doing  their  beneficent  work.  The  nation  will  not  be  saved 
by  any  one  "  great  man;"  the  bone  and  muscle  of  intelligent  labor 
ing  men  must  work  out  its  salvation.  Blundering  statesmen  may 
mar  the  fortunes  of  the  war;  general  after  general  may  show  up  his 
own  incompetence  ;  the  concentrated  and  consolidated  intelligence 
of  the  working  men  and  fighting  men  will,  in  the  end,  prove  victo 
rious.  When  the  bayonet  has  done  its  work,  the  ballot-box  must 
protect  the  freedom  won  on  the  battle-field.  When  every  ballot 
represents  an  idea,  and  falls  electrified  with  intelligence  to  "exe 
cute  a  freeman's  will/'  the  States  will  revolve  harmoniously  around 
the  central  sun  of  a  consolidated  Union ;  no  star  will  shoot  off  in 


INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES.  121 

eccentric  orbit  into  the  chaos  of  disunion,  or  the  cometary  darkness 

and  desolation  of  secession.  .-.'• 

******** 

Intelligent  free  laborers  are  working  out  the  great  problem  of 
civilizing  this  continent;  intelligent  fighting  men  are  consolidating 
its  Government;  and,  underlying  all,  the  public  schools  are  silently 
forming  a  sound  national  character.  Free  as  air,  vital  as  electricity 
and  vivifying  as  the  sunlight,  they  act  on  the  organic  forces  of  the 
nation,  as  these  three  physical  agents  build  up  the  life  of  the  globe 
out  of  inorganic  matter. 

The  insurrection  will  be  put  down  by  the  sword  and  the  bayonet; 
but  even  then  the  only  strength  of  the  Union  will  be  in  a  public 
opinion  based  on  an  intelligent  comprehension  of  national  affairs  by 
the  people  of  the  whole  nation. 

The  number  of  legal  voters  in  the  United  States  who  cannot  read 
and  write  is  greater  than  the  ordinary  majority  by  which  a  President 
is  elected. 

It  is  seldom  the  Governor  of  any  State  is  elected  by  a  majority 
larger  than  the  number  of  "  illiterate  voters  of  the  State."  What 
avails  the  Constitution  at  the  mercy  of  men  who  cannot  read  it  ? 
Unless  the  laws  of  the  several  States  are  administered  by  rulers 
chosen  by  electors  whose  ballots  fall  vitalized  by  intelligence,  no 
standing  armies,  no  Constitutions,  can  hold  them  in  harmonious 
spheres  around  the  central  sun  of  a  Representative  Government. 
They  will  shoot  off  in  eccentric  orbits  into  the  unfathomable  dark 
ness  of  dissolution  and  chaos,  never  to  return. 

It  is  a  Prussian  maxim.  "Whatever  you  would  have  appear  in  the 
life  of  the  nation  you  must  put  into  the  schools." 

If  the  schools  inculcate  with  intellectual  training  love  of  country, 
>cordial  submission  to  lawful  authority,  moral  rectitude,  some  knowl 
edge  of  the  theory  and  organic  structure  of  our  Government,  and  a 
true  spirit  of  patriotism,  then  shall  our  citizens  be  truly  MEN,  and  our 
electors  princes  indeed. 

When  I  consider  the  power  of  the  public  schools,  how  they  have 
disseminated  intelligence  in  every  village,  and  hamlet,  and  log- 
house  in  the  nation,  how  they  are  molding  the  plastic  elements  of 
the  next  generation  into  the  symmetry  of  modern  civilization,  I  can 
not  think  that  our  country  is  to  be  included  in  the  long  list 

"  Of  nations  scattered  like  the  chaff 
Blown  from  the  threshing-floor  of  God." 

I  hold  nothing  in  common  with  those  fainthearted  patriots  who 
are  beginning  to  despair  of  the  future  of  our  country.  The  latent 
powers  of  the  nation  are  just  coming  into  healthful  and  energetic 
action,  and  in  spite  of  treason,  are  moving  the  Republic  onward  and 
upward  to  a  higher  standpoint  of  liberty. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  race,  even  in  its  ruder  years,  always  possessed 
an  inherent  power  of  self-government.  Tell  me  not  that  now,  when 
this  stubborn  vitality  and  surplus  energy,  expended  so  long  in  over 
running  the  world,  are  guided  by  intelligence  and  refined  by  Chris 
tianity,  this  same  race  is  to  be  stricken  with  the  palsy,  because  of  a 
<two  years'  war. 

Long  before  the  completion  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  these  new  re- 

8 


122  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

cruits,  drilled  in  the  public  schools,  will  push  their  way  across  the 
continent,  as  the  Saxons  set  out  from  their  northern  hives,  a  vast 
army  of  occupation,  cultivating  the  "National  Homestead, "and  for 
tifying  the  whole  line  of  communication  by  a  cordon  of  schoolhouses 
that  shall  hold  it  forever  as  the  heritage  of  free  labor,  free  men  and 
a  free  nation. 

"  So  shall  the  Northern  pioneer  go  joyful  on  his  way, 
To  wed  Penobscot's  waters  to  San  Francisco's  Bay  ! 
To  make  the  rugged  places  smooth,  to  sow  the  vales  with  grain, 
And  bear,  with  Liberty  and  Law,  the  Bible  in  his  train; 
The  mighty  West  shall  bless  the  East,  and  sea  shall  answer  sea, 
And  mountain  unto  mountain  call,  PRAISE  GOD,  FOE  WE  AKE  FEEE  !" 


3.   METHODS  OF  TEACHING.* 

The  common  schools  are  established  by  law,  for  the  purpose  of 
affording  to  all  the  children  in  the  State  the  means  of  obtaining  a 
good  education,  at  the  public  expense.  Their  design  is  to  have 
knowledge  as  common  among  the  people,  as  are  water,  air,  and  the 
sunlight.  They  are  planted  deep  in  the  affections  of  the  people. 
Their  importance  cannot  be  overstated.  Any  attempt  to  improve 
them,  or  to  render  them  more  useful,  deserves  the  encouragement 
of  every  good  citizen.  I  understand  that  the  object  of  this  Insti 
tute,  composed  of  teachers  from  various  parts  of  the  State,  is  to 
interchange  views  in  relation  to  the  great  cause  of  education,  in 
order  to  assist  one  another  in  the  practice  of  their  profession. 

So  much  has  been  written  upon  the  subject  of  education,  that  it 
would  seem  to  have  been  exhausted  long  ago.  Yet  it  is,  in  fact,  as 
inexhaustible  as  human  nature.  It  comprehends  and  applies  to  all 
men,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  under  all  circumstances,  and 
with  all  their  varieties  and  peculiarities  of  character.  It  endeavors 
to  ascertain  the  true  and  philosophical  system  of  human  culture,  to 
point  out  the  best  methods  of  teaching,  of  maintaining  good  order, 
of  preserving  the  health,  and  of  developing  all  the  faculties  in  the 
natural  order,  so  as  to  produce  the  best  results  for  the  individual 
and  the  community. 

The  object  of  the  present  meeting  is  more  specifically  to  improve, 
in  every  possible  manner,  the  condition  of  the  common  schools  of 
this  State.  We  wish  to  render  these  fountains,  at  which  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  drink,  as  pure  and  invigorating  as  possible. 

My  purpose  is  then  to  take  some  of  the  ordinary  branches  taught 
in  the  common  schools,  and  to  state  what  I  think  the  best  methods 
of  giving  instruction  in  them.  Before  doing  so,  however,  let  me 
present  a  few  general  considerations. 

Although  the  practice  of  teaching  must  have  begun  in  Para 
dise  (indeed,  according  to  the  pious  legends  of  the  Kabbins,  Adam 
was  not  only  the  first  man,  but  also  the  first  schoolmaster,  aided  by 
Enoch,  I  suppose,  as  his  first  assistant),  yet  it  is  nearly  certain  that 
no  great  improvements  were  generally  effected  in  the  art  of  teach 
ing,  and  that  there  never  was  known  such  a  thing  as  the  philosophy 
of  teaching,  until  the  institution  of  common  schools,  and,  in  point 

*  Eead  before  the  State  Teachers'  Institute,  1861,  by  George  W.Minns. 


INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES.  123 

of  fact,  not  even  till  long  after  they  were  known.  We  owe  our 
fathers  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  establishment  of  the  first  free 
schools,  supported  at  the  public  expense,  for  the  education  of  the 
whole  people.  Yet  they  were  very  imperfect  in  many  particulars, 
and  the  change  for  the  better  was  very  slow  and  not  made  without 
much  opposition.  There  was  for  a  long  time  great  imperfection  in 
the  construction  of  schoolhouses.  The  Hon.  Horace  Mann,  while 
he  was  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  described 
schoolhouses  in  central  districts  of  rich  and  populous  towns,  where 
each  seat  was  a  stump,  without  side-arms  or  back-board ;  some  of 
them  so  high  that  the  feet  of  the  children  in  vain  sought  after  the 
floor,  and  on  the  hard  top  of  which  they  were  obliged  to  balance 
themselves  as  well  as  they  could,  for  some  six  hours  in  a  day. 

Mr.  Mann  says:  "  I  have  reason  to  remember  one  of  another  class 
of  schoolhouses,  of  the  wicker-work  order  of  architecture — summer- 
houses  for  winter  residences — where  there  was  never  a  severely  cold 
day  without  the  ink's  freezing  in  the  pens  of  the  scholars  while  they 
were  writing,  and  the  teacher  was  obliged  to  compromise  between 
the  sufferings  of  those  who  were  exposed  to  the  cold  of  the  win 
dows,  and  those  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  fire,  by  not  raising  the 
thermometer  near  the  latter  above  ninety  degrees,  until  that  near 
the  window  fell  below  thirty.  It  was  an  excellent  place  for  the 
teacher  to  illustrate  one  of  the  facts  in  geography,  for  five  steps 
would  have  carried  him  through  the  five  zones.  Just  before  my 
present  circuit,"  he  writes,  "I  passed  a  schoolhouse,  the  roof  of 
which,  on  one  side,  was  trough-like,  and  down  towards  the  eaves 
there  was  a  large  hole,  so  that  the  whole  operated  like  a  tunnel,  to 
catch  the  rain,  and  pour  it  into  the  school-room.  At  first,  I  did 
not  know  but  it  might  be  some  apparatus  to  illustrate  the  deluge. 
I  called,  and  inquired  of  the  mistress  if  she  and  her  little  ones  were 
not  sometimes  drowned  out.  She  said  she  should  be,  only  that  the 
floor  leaked  as  badly  as  the  roof,  and  drained  off  the  water." 

I  myself  have  seen  a  schoolhouse  in  which  an  old  hat  was  shown 
to  be  a  pronoun,  by  being  used  instead  of  the  noun,  glass. 

It  is  of  great  importance  to  provide  healthful  and  comfortable 
Bchoolhouses  for  the  young.  Let  them  be  placed  in  the  most 
pleasant  locations ;  let  the  seats  be  convenient  for  children  of  all 
ages,  and  let  an  abundance  be  furnished  of  that  prime  necessary  of 
life,  fresh  air. 

More  improvements  have  been  made  in  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
in  relation  to  the  structure  and  management  of  schoolhouses,  and 
in  reference  to  the  modes  of  teaching  the  various  branches  pursued 
therein,  than  had  been  accomplished  during  the  preceding  two  cen 
turies.  I  well  remember  the  first  grammar-school  which  I  attended. 
It  was  a  very  long  room,  with  a  smoke-pipe  extending  the  whole 
length  of  it,  into  which,  so  the  master  said,  all  bad  boys  would  go. 
I  was  puzzled  for  some  time  to  find  where  it  led,  as  it  passed  through 
a  partition  separating  us  from  the  next  room.  The  stove  was  large 
and  grim-looking,  with  the  head  of  some  nondescript  monster  upon 
the  door,  with  the  snarling  mouth  wide  open ;  and  when  the  full 
power  of  the  draught  was  on,  it  roared  loud  enough  to  devour  sev 
eral  bad  boys  at  once.  I  kept  at  a  safe  distance  from  it.  The  walls 


124  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

of  this  apartment  were  as  bare  as  prison  walls.  There  was  not  a 
map,  nor  an  engraving,  nor  a  picture  upon  them,  and  no  globe  be 
longed  to  the  school.  This  was  certainly  wrong.  The  walls  of  our 
school-rooms  should  be  covered  and  adorned  with  maps  and  pict 
ures  suited  to  the  progress  of  the  scholars.  There  are  published  in 
the  pictorial  papers,  and  in  other  ways,  farm  scenes,  pictures  of  do 
mestic  animals,  birds,  and  beasts,  of  flowers,  of  different  kinds  of 
trees,  and  views  of  some  of  the  largest  cities  of  the  globe,  all  of 
which  would  be  useful  in  this  respect.  Nor,  by  any  means,  would 
I  have  omitted  some  scenes  addressed  to  that  sense  of  the  beautiful 
which  exists  in  children  as  strongly  as  it  does  in  us.  All  this  might 
be  done  at  a  trifling  expense,  and  what  a  contrast  would  be  presented 
between  such  a  school-room  and  the  cold,  lifeless,  and  dingy  walls 
within  which  too  many  children  are  confined.  If  I  had  a  school  in 
the  country,  particularly  if  it  was  one  for  small  children,  I  would, 
in  the  proper  season,  have  many  of  the  exercises  conducted  in  the 
open  air,  in  a  grove,  or  any  shady  place  near  by.  Every  lesson 
relating  to  nature  should  be  studied,  or  read,  in  the  face  of  nature, 
"With  flowers  scattered  all  around,  and  under  the  living  trees,  instead 
of  hanging  over  the  "desk's  dead  wood."  Why  should  a  class  read 
Bryant's  glorious  poem,  "  The  groves  were  God's  first  temples,"  in 
&  wooden  box  lined  with  Lowell  sheeting,  when  at  a  short  distance 
may  be  nature's  temple  itself,  with  its  lofty  pillars,  its  green  arches, 
its  majestic  roof,  and  its  sweet  songsters. 

Then,  still  carrying  out  this  principle  of  object-teaching,  I  would 
avail  myself  of  it  wherever  I  could.  For  instance,  by  the  use  of  the 
numeral  frame,  or,  if  that  cannot  be  had,  with  buttons,  or  beans,  all 
the  fundamental  rules  and  principles  of  arithmetic  can  be  taught 
and  made  palpable  to  the  eye.  I  would  have  the  length  of  a  yard, 
foot,  and  inch,  permanently  marked  upon  the  upper  part  of  the 
blackboard.  1  would  have  every  grammar  school  provided  with 
the  following  articles,  for  use  in  the  various  departments,  namely  : 
Peck,  gallon,  quart,  pint,  and  gill,  measures;  grains,  pennyweights, 
ounces,  and  pounds,  of  the  different  measures ;  blocks  to  represent 
square  and  solid  measures,  and,  in  addition,  a  pair  of  scales.  The 
clock  can  be  used  to  illustrate  the  divisions  of  time.  I  would  have 
every  scholar  studying  arithmetic  show  himself,  by  experiment, 
whether  the  tables  he  commits  to  memory  are  correct.  In  this 
manner,  the  learning  of  the  tables,  which  is  so  often  considered  a 
drudgery,  would  become  a  pleasant  pastime.  After  this,  do  you 
think  the  pupil  would  forget  them  ? 

So  in  commencing  grammar.  Provide  a  number  of  different  col 
ored  wafers,  bits  of  cloth,  silk,  or  cotton.  Show  them  to  the  schol 
ars,  asking  them  to  state  the  color  of  each.  Let  the  pupils  tell  and 
write  upon  their  slates  the  object,  the  color,  and  the  number  shown. 
Will  not  they  very  soon  learn  which  is  the  noun,  and  which  words 
merely  describe  the  noun — that  is,  are  adjectives  ? 

A  similar  course  may  be  pursued  with  the  verb,  and  it  may  be 
modified  so  as  to  bring  the  child  to  understand  the  office  of  pro 
nouns,  and  to  apply  some  of  the  tenses  of  the  verbs. 

Example — I  lift  a  book  (doing  it).  He  lifts  a  book.  The  book 
can  be  lifted.  You  may  rise.  They  will  sit.  She  is  touching  the 
table,  etc. 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  125 

This  exercise  may  be  varied  indefinitely.  Children  should  go 
through  these  exercises  together,  pronouncing  the  sentences,  and 
illustrating  them  by  doing  the  thing  mentioned. 

In  this  connection,  I  will  remark  that,  in  my  opinion,  children  r 
pursue  the  study  of  grammar  at  altogether  too  early  an  age.  Be 
cause  they  can  easily  be  taught  what  a  noun,  an  adjective,  or  a  verb 
is,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  their  minds  are  in  a  fit  state  to  under 
stand  the  principles  of  grammar,  or  analysis.  There  are  other  stud 
ies  more  suitable  for  their  tender  years.  A  year  or  two  later,  they 
can  enter  more  readily  into  the  spirit  and  foundation  of  the  rules  of 
grammar,  and  their  minds  will  be  better  prepared  to  grapple  with 
the  difficulties  of  the  study.  Time  is  lost  by  putting  children  into 
studies  for  which  their  minds  are  not  ripe.  "Grammar  is  not  the 
stepping  -stone,  but  the  finishing  instrument."  As  grammar  was 
made  after  language,  so  ought  it  to  be  taught  after  language. 

When  scholars  come  to  study  the  natural  sciences,  these  are 
made,  as  much  as  possible,  matters  of  experiment  and  observation. 
No  one  supposes  a  pupil  will  make  any  proficiency  in  the  study  of 
chemistry,  or  of  any  branch  of  natural  philosophy,  without  witness 
ing  experiments,  or  making  them  for  themselves.  Is  there  not  good 
reason,  then,  for  pursuing  the  same  course,  as  far  as  possible,  with 
less  advanced  children  ?  It  is  true,  as  has  been  remarked,  that  pri- 
mary  and  intermediate  schools  need  apparatus  as  much  as  a  high  *" 
school,  but,  of  course,  of  a  different  character. 

The  several  faculties  of  the  human  mind  are  not  simultaneously 
developed,  and  in  educating  an  individual  we  ought  to  follow  the/ 
order  of  nature,  and  adapt  the  instruction  to  the  age  and  mental 
stature  of  the  pupil.  If  we  reverse  this  order,  and  attempt  to  culti 
vate  faculties  which  are  not  sufficiently  matured,  while  we  neglect 
to  cultivate  those  which  are,  we  do  the  child  an  irreparable  injury. 
Memory,  imitation,  imagination,  powers  of  observation,  and  the  fac 
ulty  of  forming  mental  habits,  exist  in  early  life,  while  the  judgment 
and  the  reasoning  powers  are  of  slower  growth.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  memory  may  be  stored  at  an  early  age  with  valuable  rules 
and  precepts  which  in  future  life  may  become  the  materials  of  reflec 
tion,  and  the  guiding  principles  of  action  ;  that  it  may  be  furnished 
with  heroic  sentiments  and  poetic  illustrations,  with  "  thoughts  which  . 
breathe  and  words  that  burn/'  and  which,  long  after,  will  spring  up 
spontaneously  from,  the  depths  of  the  mind,  at  the  proper  moment, 
to  embellish  and  to  enforce  the  truths  of  the  future  man. 

This  period  of  life,  when  acquisitions  of  this  kind  are  most  readily 
made,  is  not  that  in  which  the  judgment  and  reasoning  powers  can 
be  most  properly  cultivated.  They  require  a  more  advanced  age, 
when  the  mind  has  become  more  matured  by  natural  growth,  and 
better  furnished  with  the  material  of  thought. 

An  important  part  of  elementary  mental  instruction  is  that  of  im 
parting  expertness  in  the  performance  of  certain  processes,  such  as 
spelling,  reading,  penmanship,  drawing,  composition,  expertness  in 
the  first  rules  of  arithmetic.  I  shall  by  and  by  consider  some  of 
these  branches  under  another  aspect.  At  present  I  refer  only  to 
that  promptness  and  dexterity  in  going  through  certain  processes, 
which  can  be  imparted  only  by  laborious  drilling  on  the  part  of  the 


126  INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES. 

teacher,  and  acquired  only  by  attention  and  frequent  practice  on 
the  part  of  the  pupil.  As  merely  one  illustration  of  what  I  mean, 
I  will  mention  skill  in  adding  long  columns  of  figures  with  rapidity 
and  correctness.  It  is  only  in  early  life,  while  the  mind  is  in  a  pli 
able  condition,  that  these  mental  facilities  can  most  readily  and  most 
perfectly  be  acquired.  The  practice  in  each  case  must  be  so  long 
continued,  and  the  process  so  often  repeated,  that  it  becomes  a 
mental  habit,  and  is  at  length  performed  with  accuracy  and  rapid- 
ity,  almost  without  thought.  I  think  this  drilling  is  the  most  irk 
some  part  of  a  Teacher's  duty;  it  is  apt  to  be  distasteful  to  the  pupil, 
but  it  must  be  faithfully  and  resolutely  performed.  It  is  an  import 
ant  principle  which  should  be  kept  In  view  by  the  Teacher,  that 
although  the  practice  of  an  art  is  at  first  difficult,  and  requires  at 
each  step  an  effort  of  mind,  yet,  every  repetition  renders  it  easier, 
and  at  length  we  come  to  exercise  it  not  only  without  effort,  but  as 
a  pleasurable  gratification  of  a  habitual  act.  Perseverance,  there 
fore,  in  this  cause,  will  ultimately  receive  a  grateful  reward. 

We  should  carefully  avoid  having  too  many  studies  in  our  schools. 
Non  multa,  sed  muttum  is  a  maxim  of  sound  sense.  Do  a  few  things 
well,  not  many  things  poorly.  It  should  never  be  forgotten  that 
correct  spelling,  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  geography,  grammar, 
and  facility  in  expressing  one's  self  in  good  plain  English,  are  indis 
pensable.  They  are  the  foundation  of  all  future  acquisitions;  in 
fact,  without  them,  there  can  be  no  superstructure.  They  are  worth 
any  quantity  of  heads  full  of  mere  smatterings  of  ologies  and  osophies. 

' '  I  want  to  conjecture  a  map  to  study  antimony,  and  to  learn 
bigotry,"  said  a  girl  to  her  master.  "My  dear  little  girl,"  was  the 
reply,  "  jou  may  project  a  map,  after  having  studied  geography  some 
time  longer;  astronomy  you  may  attend  to  when  you  can  understand 
it;  and  I  would  advise  you  never  to  learn  bigotry  in  all  your  life. 
Perhaps  you  mean  botany." 

It  is  a  great  evil,  I  have  said,  to  introduce  many  studies  into  a 
school.  It  works  evil  in  another  way,  and  that  is,  children  are  put 
into  studies  for  which  their  minds  are  not  mature  enough.  It  is  an 
important  fact  that  the  mind,  at  a  certain  time,  may  be  totally  un 
able  to  comprehend  a  subject,  because  it  is  not  sufficiently  developed 
to  understand  it.  The  evident  course  to  be  followed  is,  to  wait, 
wait  until  the  mind  has  grown,  and  then  what  was  formerly  so  diffi 
cult  becomes  perhaps  quite  easy. 

An  incident  is  related  in  the  Autobiography  of  Dr.  Benjamin 
Franklin,  which  illustrates  this  point. 

Dr.  Franklin  states  that  he  was  sent  by  his  father  to  a  school  for 
writing  and  arithmetic,  "  kept  by  a  then  famous  man,  a  Mr.  George 
Brownwell.  Under  him,"  says  the  Doctor,  "  I  learned  to  write  a 
good  hand  pretty  soon;  but  I  failed  entirely  in  arithmetic." 

It  is  almost  incredible  that  a  mind  like  Franklin's  should  be  in 
capable,  even  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  of  understanding  the  rudi 
ments  of  arithmetic,  which  he  tells  us,  he  mastered  a  few  years  after 
by  himself,  with  ease.  His  mind,  perhaps,  was  not  sufficiently 
grown  for  him  to  take  hold  of  the  subject.  Another  explanation  of 
this  fact  is  to  be  found  also  in  the  character  of  the  text-books  used 
in  Franklin's  day,  and  in  the  method,  or,  rather,  want  of  any  method, 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  127 

-of  instruction.  Every  one,  at  all  interested  in  the  cause  of  Educa 
tion,  knows  the  vast  improvement  that  has  been  made  within  a 
brief  period,  both  in  the  books  used  in  schools  and  in  the  methods 
of  teaching  from  them.  This  improvement  has  extended  to  every 
branch  of  a  school  education.  It  is  difficult  for  us  to  form  an  idea 
how  different  was  the  state  of  things  in  Franklin's  time.  I  imagine 
I  see  the  boy — endowed  by  his  Creator  with  faculties  which  were  to 
astonish  the  world  by  their  strength,  acuteness,  and  grasp — that 
boy,  who  afterwards  made  his  name  immortal  by  his  discoveries  in 
science,  and  who  did  more  than  any  man,  except  Washington,  to 
carry  his  countrymen  successfully  through  the  war  of  the  Revolu 
tion — I  imagine  I  see  him  in  a  small  and,  probably,  ill-ventilated 
school-room  in  School  Street,  in  the  town  of  Boston,  resting  his 
distracted  head  upon  his  hand,  and  endeavoring  in  vain  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  meaning  of  the  mysterious  rules  in  Cocker's  Arith 
metic.  The  various  studies  that  now  make  school  life  pleasant  were 
entirely  out  of  his  reach.  At  ten  years  of  age  he  was  taken  from 
school  to  help  his  father  in  the  business  of  tallow-chandler  and 
soap-boiler,  having  learned  from  that  "famous  man,"  Master 
Brownwell,  nothing  except  a  good  hand — a  statement  which  every 
one  will  admit  to  be  true  who  looks  at  his  name,  signed  in  clear, 
round  characters,  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  One  cannot 
help  thinking  with  what  delight  Franklin  would,  even  at  that  early 
age,  have  pored  over  the  most  elementary  treatise  on  Natural  Phi 
losophy;  but  it  was  to  be  his  fate,  by  his  brilliant  discoveries,  to 
make  some  of  the  most  important  additions  to  such  a  work,  instead 
of  merely  reading  accounts  of  the  achievements  of  others. 

It  should  be  carefully  kept  in  mind  that  the  object  is  not  to  pour 
information  into  the  mind,  but  to  train  and  discipline  it.  Hence, 
we  see  the  absurdity  of  learning  a  lesson  merely  by  rote,  and  of 
asking,  in  hearing  a  recitation,  simply  the  questions  which  may  be 
in  the  book.  Montaigne  says:  "To  know  by  heart,  is  not  to 
know."  Self-development  should  be  encouraged  to  the  fullest  ex 
tent.  The  pupil  should  be  told  as  little  as  possible,  and  induced  to 
discover  as  much  as  possible.  Encourage  him  to  conquer  difficul 
ties  himself.  Every  victory  so  achieved  adds  to  the  strength  of  his 
mind,  and  what  he  acquires  in  this  way  he  makes  permanently  his 
own.  The  rule  that  the  teacher  should  follow,  is  not  to  do  anything 
for  the  scholar  which  the  scholar  can  do  for  himself;  to  remove 
.from  the  road  only  those  obstacles  which  are  insurmountable,  and 
to  put  the  pupil  on  the  right  track  when  he  has  got  on  the  wrong 
one.  The  true  object  in  teaching  is,  to  enable  the  scholar  to  do 
without  a  teacher,  as  in  assisting  a  child  to  walk;  it  is  that  he  may 
walk  alone.  It  is  true  that  certain  information  muse  be  imparted 
by  the  teacher,  and  the  best  informed  man,  other  things  being 
equal,  will  be  the  best  teacher.  But  in  imparting  information,  the 
same  caution  should  be  used  as  in  feeding  a  child.  Give  him  intel 
lectual  food  only  when  he  craves  it,  then  only  can  he  digest  it. 
Don't  load  his  stomach  when  he  is  not  hungry.  There  is  intellec 
tual  dyspepsia  in  schools. 

It  is  implied  in  what  I  have  said,  that  the  real  object  of  education 
is  to  teach  how  to  think.  If  this  is  not  done,  the  memory  may  be 


128  INSTITUTE  ADDEESSES. 

crammed  with  knowledge,  so  called  (even  this  is  like  the  rude  and 
undigested  mass  with  which  Virgil's  harpies  gorged  themselves); 
but  what  wisdom  is  there,  what  development  of  mind  ?  Emerson 
says:  "  When  a  great  thinker  is  let  loose  upon  the  world,  look 
out."  How  true  it  is  that  very  few  people  do  think.  Many  follow 
in  the  beaten  track,  without  asking  whether  there  is  not  a  better 
road.  How  many  are  carried  away  by  mere  words,  names,  devices, 
without  once  inquiring — What  does  all  this  really  mean  ?  Let  us 
not  be  surprised,  then,  that  the  power  of  thinking  is  not  more 
frequently  found  among  the  young.  Few  grown  persons  possess 
it.  But  it  is  a  source  of  great  gratification  to  the  teacher  when  he 
finds  in  his  class  any  who  do  think,  wrho  turn  the  matter  over  in 
their  minds,  who  inquire  why  this  is,  or  is  not,  so;  in  short,  who 
bring  mind  to  bear  upon  the  subject  of  their  lessons.  He  wishes 
that  that  leaven  would  leaven  the  whole  lump  of  juvenility  before 
him.  Too  many  learn  their  lessons  by  going  over  them  as  a  mere 
matter  of  memory,  not  as  an  exercise  of  the  mind.  This  will  be  the 
case  as  long  as  teachers  insist  upon,  and  are  satisfied  with,  merely 
the  answers  in  the  book,  hearing  the  lesson  almost  as  a  mechanical 
exercise.  The  remedy  for  the  evil  is  to  cross-examine  the  scholars 
closely,  and  in  a  variety  of  ways,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  they 
have  clear  and  definite  ideas  on  the  subject  which  they  have  been 
studying.  In  this  manner  you  probe  their  knowledge.  Take  all 
the  pains  in  the  world  to  see  that  they  understand  what  they  recite, 
perhaps,  very  glibly. 

As  the  foundation  of  all  memory,  of  all  thinking,  of  progress  in 
learning,  of  success  in  any  pursuit,  attention  is  indispensable.  It  is 
the  possession,  or  the  want  of  this  faculty,  that  makes  the  great 
difference  among  men.  It  is  the  power  of  directing  and  holding^ 
the  mind  closely  and  fixedly  upon  any  subject  until  it  is  contem 
plated  in  all  its  aspects  and  relations,  and  thereby  fully  understood. 
You  remember  Newton  said  if  there  was  a  difference  between  him 
self  and  other  men,  it  resulted  from  his  attention  to  the  subject  of 
his  thoughts.  This  ability  to  fasten  and  hold  the  attention  cannot 
be  estimated  too  highly.  It  must  not  be  disregarded  even  in  the 
youngest  pupil.  Whether  one  or  many  are  to  be  instructed,  un 
divided  attention  must  be  given.  Care  and  judgment  are,  of  course, 
highly  necessary  in  presenting  just  such  thoughts  and  lessons  as 
are  adapted  to  their  capacity.  One  thing  at  a  time  should  claim 
attention  until  it  is  fully  mastered-  Let  that  one  thing  be  within 
the  reach  of  the  child's  mind,  and  then  impressed  upon  it  until  the 
idea  is  fully  grasped. 

A  pleasant  method  of  giving  a  child  a  lesson  in  attention  may  be 
found  in  Ogden's  "  Science  of  Education/'  He  says:  "  A  little  ex 
pedient  to  which  I  have  resorted,  on  some  occasions,  may  be  sug 
gestive  of  means  that  may  be  adopted  for  correcting  these  evils, 
and  of  fixing  the  attention.  Holding  up  my  watch  to  the  school,  I 
have  said:  '  How  many  of  these  little  boys  and  girls  can  look  at  it 
for  one  minute  at  a  time  ?'  The  idea,  perhaps,  is  a  novel  one,  and 
their  little  voices  and  hands  will  respond,  anxious  for  the  experi 
ment.  Some  will  say,  boastingly,  '  I  can  look  at  it  an  hour!'  c  Two 
hours  r  responds  another  little  captain,  who  is  anxious  to  make  a 


INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES. 

display  of  his  prowess.  At  this  juncture,  I  ask,  how  many  would 
be  willing  to  make  the  experiment  of  one  minute  continuous  look 
ing  ?  There  is  a  shower  of  hands  and  a  shout  of  voices  raised  to 
the  highest  pitch.  '  Well,  let  us  try;  all  ready;  now!'  And  their 
forms  straighten  up,  and  all  eyes  are  bent  with  intense  earnestness 
upon  the  watch.  It  grows  very  quiet,  and  every  one  listens  and 
looks.  Presently  it  occurs  to  half  a  dozen,  or  more,  of  them,  that 
they  are  doing  it  about  right.  '  I  wonder  if  John,  or  Charles,  or 
Mary,  or  Ellen,  is  looking  too  ?  Wonder  if  they  all  are  doing  as  well 
as  I  am?'  And  their  thoughts  leave  the  watch  and  the  promise,  and 
wander  after  Charles  or  Ellen,  and  the  temptation  to  look  away  be 
comes  so  great  that  in  about  half  a  minute,  or  less,  you  will  see  an 
occasional  pair  of  eyes  glance  hurriedly  to  some  convenient  quarter 
of  the  room,  and  back  quick  to  the  watch  again;  others,  still  less 
cautious,  will  turn  the  head,  and  look  carelessly  away;  others, 
again,  will  drop  off  entirely,  and  cease  to  look;  while  some  more 
resolute  and  determined  and  careful  than  the  rest,  will  not  remove 
their  eyes  for  a  moment,  and,  at  the  expiration  of  the  time,  will  an 
nounce  their  triumph  with  evident  satisfaction.  At  the  close,  some 
will  insist  upon  a  new  trial;  it  may  be  granted,  and  then  others 
will  succeed:  and  here  it  might  be  well  to  vary  the  experiment. 
The  question  might  be  asked :  '  If  you  are  capable  of  holding  your 
eyes  fixed  upon  that  watch,  can  you,  with  equal  success,  confine 
them  to  a  picture  or  mark,  upon  the  board  ?' 

"  '  Now,  if  you  can  look  at  a  watch,  a  picture,  or  a  mere  chalk 
mark  upon  the  board,  for  a  given  time,  can  you  look  at  your  books 
as  long  without  change?'  The  intention  here,  perhaps,  will  be  dis 
covered  by  some,  and  they  will  begin  to  see  the  force  of  it.  Let 
the  experiment  be  made  with  the  book,  without  attempting  to  study 
during  the  first  few  trials.  If  they  succeed  well,  suggest  that  if 
they  can  look  upon  one  page  of  the  book,  they  might  study  that 
long  without  looking  away;  and  if  they  can  thus  confine  the  atten 
tion  for  one,  two,  or  three  minutes,  they  can  also,  by  practicing, 
continue  to  five  and  six;  but  it  will  be  found  that  young  scholars 
are  not  able  to  endure  more  than  three  or  four  minutes,  even  after 
months  of  practice." 

Another  method  is  to  read  sentences  selected  for  the  beauty  of 
the  thought,  or  for  the  admirable  manner  in  which  they  express 
some  noble  sentiment,  or  convey  some  moral  truth.  They  are  to 
be  suited  to  the  mind  of  the  scholar,  and  are  to  be  read  to  the 
whole  class,  beginning,  of  course,  with  short  sentences,  and  after 
wards  proceeding  to  longer  and  more  complicated.  Every  one  in 
the  class  must  be  told  to  give  close  attention.  The  sentence  is 
then  read  only  once,  slowly  and  distinctly.  All  those  who  can  re 
member  it  are  requested  to  raise  their  hands,  and  some  one  is  called 
on  to  repeat  it.  It  is  wonderful  to  what  an  extent  the  attention  and 
the  memory  can  be  cultivated  by  such  .a  course  as  this.  Do  you 
suppose  that  children,  who  have  had  the  advantage  of  this  practice, 
will,  when  they  hear  a  lecture  or  sermon  in  after-life,  complain  that 
their  memories  are  so  wretched  that  they  cannot  recollect  a  word? 

Warren  Colburn's  "Intellectual  Arithmetic"  (and  all  mental 
arithmetics  are  based  upon  his  plan),  besides  addressing  the  reason- 


130  INSTITUTE   ADDKESSES. 

ing  faculty,  and  leading  pupils  to  understand  the  principles  of 
arithmetic,  is  remarkably  instrumental  in  increasing  the  power  of 
thought,  and  in  enabling  the  mind  to  hold  and  to  follow  a  line  of 
consecutive  reasoning. 

The  object  of  the  Common  School  is  to  give  the  pupil  a  good 
knowledge  of  the  fundamental  branches  of  an  English  education. 
I  shall  now  remark  upon  the  methods  of  teaching  some  of  these 
branches  somewhat  more  in  detail. 

Edward  Everett  says,  "  I  hold  that  to  read  the  English  language 
well — that  is,  with  intelligence,  feeling,  spirit,  and  effect;  to  write, 
wTith  dispatch,  a  neat,  handsome,  legible  hand  (for  it  is,  after  all,  a 
great  object  in  writing  to  have  others  able  to  read  what  we  write), 
and  to  be  master  of  the  four  rules  of  arithmetic,  so  as  to  dispose, 
at  once,  with  accuracy,  every  question  of  figures  which  comes  up  in 
practical  life — I  say,  I  call  this  a  good  education.  And,  if  you  add 
the  ability  to  write  pure,  grammatical  English,  I  regard  it  as  an  ex 
cellent  education.  These  are  the  tools.  You  can  do  much  with 
them,  but  you  are  helpless  without  them." 

First,  let  me  speak  of  reading.  To  read  understandingly,  natur 
ally,  expressively,  and  feelingly,  is  a  delightful  accomplishment; 
and  yet  how  few  possess  it  ?  Vocal  exercises  are  excellent  for  cul 
tivating  and  developing  the  powers  of  the  voice;  the  proper  pro 
nunciation  and  distinct  enunciation  of  words,  the  different  intona 
tions  of  the  voice  should  be  carefully  regarded;  but  the  significance 
of  the  words,  the  meaning  of  the  author,  is  indispensable.  A  lesson 
in  reading  should  be  studied  as  thoroughly  as  any  other  lesson  set  in  the 
school.  The  teacher  should  inquire  the  meaning  of  every  word  and 
every  allusion  with  which  he  may  suppose  the  pupils  to  be  unac 
quainted.  As  their  minds  become  more  mature,  he  should  call 
their  attention  to  the  beauties  or  defects  of  any  comparison  em 
ployed.  He  should  endeavor  to  impress  them  with  a  proper  con 
ception  of  the  beauty,  wisdom,  or  truth  of  what  they  read.  If  a 
lesson  of  only  a  few  lines  can  be  learnt  in  this  manner,  set  that  les 
son,  and  no  more.  Do  not  be  discouraged  if  the  progress  be  slow 
at  first,  it  will  be  rapid  by  and  by.  At  any  rate,  it  is  progress, 
whereas  the  other  course  is  no  progress  at  all.  For  surely  the  ut 
tering  of  pages  of  words,  day  after  day,  and  month  after  month, 
without  comprehending  their  meaning,  is  not  at  all  elevated  above 
the  occupation  of  the  parrot.  Nor  is  it  sufficient  that  the  pupil 
understands  the  meaning  of  most  of  the  words;  he  must  know  them 
all.  If  he  is  ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  one  word,  he  may  lose  all 
the  soul  of  whatever  he  reads.  Let  the  teacher,  in  hearing  a  class 
read,  have  perpetually  in  mind  the  question  addressed  by  Philip, 
"  Understandest  thou  what  thou  readest?" 

There  can  be  no  good  reading  if  the  lesson  is  not  understood. 
If,  upon  examining  a  school,  I  found  the  pupils  well  acquainted 
with  the  meaning  of  what  they  read,  I  should  feel  the  best  assur 
ance  that  they  had  pursued  their  other  studies  understandingly. 

I  wish  to  caution  all  against  a  theatrical  tone.  Most  Professors 
of  Elocution  commit  this  error,  and  many  who  attend  their  instruc 
tions  imitate  them  in  this  respect.  Hence,  there  is  so  little  good 
reading  among  us.  On  the  one  hand,  some  who  have  never  re- 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  131 

eeived  any  instruction  from  a  competent  teacher,  read  in  a  careless, 
slovenly,  and  wretched  manner,  mumbling  their  words  in  the  same 
monotone,  whatever  the  subject  may  be;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
many,  taking  their  cue  from  some  Professor  of  Elocution,  or  some 
distinguished  public  reader,  assume  an  unnatural  tone,  and,  with  an 
air  and  manner,  all  affectation  and  conceit,  begin  what  they  consider 
remarkably  stunning  reading.  Heaven  preserve  me  from  it.  "I 
had  rather  be  a  kitten,  and  cry  mew/'  than  be  obliged  to  listen  to 
it.  I  pray  you  avoid  it.  Of  one  of  these  theatrical  readers  it  was 
said  that,  at  dinner,  she  stabbed  the  potatoes  instead  of  taking 
them,  and  that  she  asked  for  a  knife  in  the  same  tone  in  which  she 
would  say,  c<  Give  me  the  dagger." 

I  proceed  next  to  the  subject  of  Geography.  This  study  is  often 
commenced  with  a  series  of  definitions,  which  are  got  by  heart,  re 
peated,  laid  aside,  and  forgotten;  forgotten,  for  one  reason,  be 
cause  not  explained  or  understood,  the  language  being  made  to 
precede  the  ideas;  and  for  another,  because  the  words  which  the 
definitions  are  to  explain  are  new  to  the  pupils.  A  better  way  of 
commencing  geography,  with  all  children,  is  to  call  their  attention 
to  the  spot  on  which  they  live;  to  point  out  surrounding  objects, 
and  mark  their  relative  situations  on  the  floor  or  black  board;  and 
thus,  to  show  how  a  town,  its  streets  or  roads,  and  its  prominent 
features,  natural  or  artificial,  may  be  represented.  As  their  ideas 
expand,  the  scale  may  be  reduced,  and  distant  towns,  counties, 
rivers,  and  mountains,  with  which  the  children  are  acquainted,  or 
of  which  they  may  have  heard,  may  be  introduced,  correct  ideas  of 
space  and  number  being  gradually  acquired.  Pupils  should  be 
taught,  by  reference  to  objects  around  them,  what  is  the  length  of 
a  mile;  and  by  questions  put  to  them  in  relation  to  places  to  which 
they  have  traveled,  they  should  be  enabled  to  form  a  correct  idea  of 
what  the  distance  fifty,  one  hundred,  or  one  thousand  miles  ac 
tually  is.  Point  out  in  which  direction  North,  South,  East  and 
West  are,  and  state  why  a  certain  direction  is  fixed  upon  for  the 
North.  Call  attention  to  the  pictorial  representations  of  lakes, 
rivers,  &c.  (like  those  introduced  into  the  San  Francisco  schools); 
and  having  already  become  acquainted  with  the  thing,  notice  how 
quickly  they  will  learn  and  how  easily  they  will  remember  the  name. 
Geography  ought  not  to  be  studied  without  continual  reference  to 
a  globe.  It  should  be  looked  at  during  every  lesson,  and  it  would 
gradually  stamp  upon  the  minds  of  the  scholars  such  a  lively  image 
of  the  sphericity  of  the  earth  and  of  the  relative  positions  and  sizes 
of  continents,  islands,  oceans,  &c.,  as  would  never  be  effaced. 

I  find  in  most  geographies,  lists  of  questions  directing  pupils  to 
learn  the  situations  of  small  towns,  or  villages,  or  insignificant 
rivers  or  lakes,  as:  Where  is  Toudou,  Tzentzin,  Sewah,  &c.}  &c.  ? 
Such  places  are  of  no  consequence;  the  scholar  has  no  assistance 
from  the  association  of  ideas  in  mastering  what  may  be  truly  called 
his  task;  and  in  ascertaining  the  position  of  places,  which  might  as 
well  be  called  by  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  as  by  the  names  used 
in  the  book.  I  should  request  the  scholar  to  find  out  the  localities 
only  of  the  more  important  places,  and  which  these  are  can  be 
easily  known  from  the  book.  Why  should  he  be  called  upon  to 


132  INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES. 

burden  bis  memory  with  a  mass  of  useless  details  forgotten  as  soon 
as  acquired  ?  You  do  not  wish  to  make  of  him  a  Geographical 
Gazeteer.  You  cannot  expect  him  to  know  the  locality  of  every 
place  upon  the  earth  from  Borioboloo  Gha  to  London.  You  must 
draw  the  line  somewhere;  draw  it  then  between  those  places  which 
are  of  importance  and  those  which  are  not.  After  leaving  school, 
the  scholar  can  easily  ascertain  the  position  of  any  place  in  which 
he  may  happen  to  be  interested. 

I  make  these  remarks  because  pupils,  at  exhibitions,  have  been 
called  upon  to  run  through  long  catalogues  of  names  of  rivers,  lakes, 
seas,  oceans,  capes,  islands,  mountains,  states,  cities,  towns,  &c.  It 
is  well  that  children  should  know  these,  to  a  certain  extent,  but  this 
is  by  no  means  the  important  part  of  geography.  They  should  also 
become  familiar  with  the  grand  facts  and  the  leading  principles;  the 
real  and  comparative  sizes  of  countries,  using  their  own  State  as  a 
unit;  the  comparative  population  of  different  countries  and  large 
cities,  taking  the  population  of  California  and.  San  Francisco  as  the- 
units  of  measure;  the  grand  features  of  countries,  such  as  the  moun 
tain  and  river  systems;  the  climate  of  different  parts  of  the  world, 
and  the  causes  affecting  it;  the  various  productions  of  the  globe;  the 
extraordinary  natural  curiosities  found  upon  the  earth;  the  great 
ocean  surrounding  the  land,  and  inviting  the  nations  to  commerce; 
the  kind  of  people  tkat  live  in  any  land,  their  religion,  their  pecu 
liarities,  their  social  and  political  condition,  and  many  other  subjects- 
which  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  competent  instructor. 

If  geography  were  taught  in  this  manner,  should  you  think  ifc 
possible  for  children  to  consider  the  top  of  a  map  to  be  up,  and  the 
bottom  down,  and  thatf  consequently,  all  rivers  which  flow  into  the 
Arctic  Ocean  must  run  up  hill  ?  Or  to  state  that  Cuba  and  Massa 
chusetts  are  of  about  the  same  size  ?  Answers  which  have  actually 
been  given  in  schools  of  considerable  reputation. 

The  elements  of  composition  are  almost  invariably  a  stumbling- 
block  to  the  young — and,  strange  as  the  statement  may  appear,  I 
think  the  principal  reasons  for  this  fact  are  that  it  is  not  commenced 
early  enough,  but  is  put  off  until  the  pupil  is  considerably  advanced 
in  his  other  studies,  and  that  he  is  then  usually  told  to  write  a  com 
position  upon  some  subject — perhaps  an  abstract  one — about  which 
he  knows  nothing,  and  in  which  he  cannot,  of  course,  feel  the 
slightest  interest.  Who  does  not  remember  the  vacuity  of  mind  and 
vexation  of  spirit  with  which,  in  his  youthful  days,  he  addressed 
himself  to  the  set  task  of  writing  an  essay  upon  such  a  theme  as — 
Virtue,  its  own  Reward  ;  The  Study  of  History,  &c.  ?  Of  what  fright 
ful  dimensions,  and  how  supernaturally  white,  looked  the  blank 
sheet  (blank  as  our  own  minds)  of  foolscap,  which  we  were  to  fill 
with  our  own  thoughts  (so  the  master  directed)  without  receiving 
any  assistance  from  our  friends.  How  frequently  we  thrust  the  pen 
into  the  inkstand  in  the  vain  hope  to  hook  up  some  idea  which 
might  be  concealed  in  that  Stygian  abyss !  How  despairingly  we 
scratched  our  heads,  how  closely  we  scrutinized  the  walls  and  the 
ceiling,  as  if  we  expected  to  catch  by  the  tail  some  stray  idea  which 
might  be  lurking  in  some  corner  or  crevice  of  the  room !  How 
firmly  did  we  for  the  time  believe  in  the  non-existence  of  mind,  and 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  133 

the  existence  of  nothing  but  matter  throughout  the  universe!  And 
then,  if,  after  all  this  cudgeling  of  our  brains,  something  did  come 
into  our  heads,  whispered,  doubtless,  by  the  pitying  spirit  of  some 
repentant  pedagogue,  did  we  not  make  the  most  of  it  ?  Did  we  not 
dilute  it,  and  dilate  it,  and  amplify  it,  and  spread  it  out,  in  the 
largest  hand,  upon  lines  ruled  at  least  two  inches  apart,  being  very 
careful  to  prevent  any  quarreling  between  the  words,  by  placing 
them  at  such  a  distance  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  them  to  cross 
swords  with  one  another! 

Now,  the  remedy  for  this  unfortunate  state  of  things  consists  in 
asking  children  to  write  upon  those  subjects  only  which  the}r  under 
stand,  or  which  relate  directly  to,  or  spring  out  of,  their  studies,  or 
in  which  they  would  naturally,  as  boys  and  girls,  take  an  interest. 
A  multitude  of  such  questions,  drawn  from  the  everyday  pursuits, 
amusements,  and  occupations  of  the  young,  will  suggest  themselves 
to  the  qualified  teacher.  It  is  highly  important  that  the  exercise  of 
writing  out  their  own  thoughts  should  commence  early.  Very  soon 
after  children  begin  to  think,  and  are  capable  of  using  and  writing 
small  words,  a  slate  and  pencil  should  be  put  into  their  hands,  and 
they  should  be  brought  to  express  their  thoughts  in  their  own  lan 
guage,  no  matter  how  short  the  sentences  or  the  words.  In  most  of 
the  schools  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  the  pupils  begin  to  write  ex 
ercises  of  this  character  after  two  years'  instruction — in  some  sooner. 
And,  certainty,  if  this  can  be  done  by  those  unfortunately  deprived 
of  speech  and  hearing,  it  can  be  accomplished  by  those  possessing 
all  their  faculties.  I  have  known  scholars,  in  other  respects  excel 
lent,  who  found  great  difficulty  in  expresmng  themselves  either 
orally  or  in  writing.  They  were  deficient  in  language.  They 
ought  to  have  been  from  an  early  period  frequently  practised  in 
the  use  of  their  mother  tongue.  The  exercises  should  be  made 
more  difficult,  as  the  pupil  becomes  older;  for  beginners,  they 
should,  of  course,  be  of  the  simplest  character.  As  soon  as  a  child 
can  write  legibly,  he  should  be  put  to  writing  short  phrases — 
original  or  from  dictation;  and,  as  a  part  of  this  exercise,  he 
should  be  taught  spelling,  the  dividing  of  words  into  syllables, 
punctuation,  the  rules  for  the  use  of  the  capital  letters,  &c.  Teachers 
complain  that  it  is  difficult  for  scholars  to  learn  to  spell  correctly; 
and  so  it  is,  especially  from  the  use  of  spelling-books  alone.  To 
become  a  very  correct  speller,  is  the  labor  of  years  on  the  part  of 
the  pupil.  It  is  continual  practice  in  the  writing  of  sentences,  not 
isolated  words,  that  makes  the  good  speller;  and  pupils  cannot  learn 
to  spell  correctly  without  being  more  in  the  habit  of  writing  than 
they  now  are.  A  man  who  writes  only  a  letter  or  two  a  year  is 
likely  to  be  a  poor  speller;  but  one  who,  from  his  occupation,  writes 
every  day,  is  rarely  faulty  in  this  respect.  Consider,  too,  in  practis 
ing  such  simple  lessons  in  composition  as  I  recommend,  how  many- 
valuable  things  they  are  at  the  same  time  acquiring.  Besides  punc 
tuation,  spelling,  the  use  of  capital  letters,  &c.,  they  are,  or  should 
be,  improving  their  handwriting;  they  are  exercising  their  minds 
pleasantly  by  the  invention  of  sentences,  short  or  long;  they  are 
learning  the  meanings  and  the  right  use  of  words;  they  are  gradu 
ally  becoming  acquainted  with  their  own  language,  and  accustomed 


134  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

to  express  their  thoughts  appropriately.  Think  how  desirable  an 
acquisition  this  last  will  be  to  every  boy  and  girl  upon  entering  into 
life,  and  how  many  have  regretted  the  want  of  it. 

I  agree  to  the  opinion,  that  it  is  a  wicked  waste  of  time  to  confine 
children,  year  after  year,  to  copy-books  in  penmanship.  After  a 
certain  stage  has  passed — and  that  not  a  very  late  one — handwrit 
ing  should  be  made  the  common  and  every-day  means  of  acquiring 
and  reducing  to  practice  a  knowledge  of  orthography,  punctuation, 
the  construction  of  sentences,  &c.  Children  who  have  been  kept 
in  their  copy-books  until  they  could  write  a  beautiful  hand  have,  if 
required  to  write  down  sentences  of  their  own  composition,  produced 
illegible  and  disgraceful  scrawls,  abounding  in  errors  of  punctua 
tion  and  spelling.  This  statement  proves  the  importance  of  early 
combining  handwriting,  punctuation,  and  spelling,  in  one  exercise  of 
the  pupil's  own  composition;  of  departing  from  the  beaten  track, 
and  of  making,  as  soon  as  possible,  scholars  do  the  whole  work  for 
themselves  without  pattern  or  assistance. 

Similar  remarks  to  those  which  I  have  made  are  applicable  to  the 
subject  of  Declamations.  Let  the  boys  speak  only  pieces  which  they 
fully  understand  and  appreciate,  suitable  to  their  age,  and  expres 
sive  of  such  thoughts,  feelings,  and  interests,  as  are  natural  to  boys, 
not  men.  I  take  no  interest  in  seeing  a  stripling  ascend  the  ros 
trum,  and,  in  tones  intended  to  be  very  impressive,  exclaim :  "  There 
stands  Bunker  Hill  Monument/5  with  a  gesture  directed  at  the 
stove-pipe.  I  object  to  hearing  a  youthful  prodigy  shriek,  in  the 
shrillest  treble,  "Myjpice  is  still  for  war."  I  refuse  to  lend  my 
ears,  although  urgently  requested  to  do  so,  in  the  well  known  line, 
beginning — 

"Friends,  Romans,  countrymen." 

I  am  not  at  all  withered  by  the  tone  of  contempt  with  which  the 
embryo  orator  "  hurls  back  the  base  insinuation,  with  scorn  and 
defiance,  into  the  teeth  of  the  contemptible  and  inefficient  member 
of  the  opposite  party."  I  have  seen,  in  a  California  paper,  a  notice 
of  an  exhibition,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  the  Great  Debate  be 
tween  Webster  and  Hayne  was  conducted  with  decorum  by  the 
youthful  Senators.  Well,  I  am  glad  it  was;  I  am  thankful  that  no 
violation  of  parliamentary  propriety  occurred,  calling  for  the  inter 
ference  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms.  But  wrhy  should  boys  personate 
Demosthenes,  Cicero,  Burke,  Webster,  Clay,  or  James  Buchanan? 
Why  not  simply  and  naturally  be  themselves  ? 

Who  would  shorten  this  blissful  period  by  introducing  into  it  the 
passions,  strifes,  and  ambition  of  men  ?  Let  boys  be  boys  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  while  they  are  such  in  years,  and  neither  on  nor 
off  the  stage  ape  the  bearing,  passions,  or  language  of  men.  I  do 
not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying  that  appeals  to  the  highest  and 
best  feelings  of  our  nature,  that  the  noble  and  patriotic  sentiments 
of  our  great  orators  cannot  be  appreciated  by  boys.  Far  from  it. 
But  I  wish  particular  pains  to  be  taken  by  the  teacher  to  avoid 
pieces  which  do  not  lie  within  the  comprehension  or  the  experience 
of  the  pupil;  and  let  those  selected  be  as  thoroughly  studied  and 
understood  as  the  lessons  in  reading,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  or 
any  other  lessons,  in  the  school. 


INSTITUTE  ADDKESSES.  135 

I  cannot  condemn  too  strongly  all  dramatic  exhibitions,  conducted 
by  schools,  in  which  scenes  from  plays  are  represented  with  scenery, 
dresses,  music,  &c.  I  do  not  object  to  a  good  dialogue  or  polylogue, 
such  as  is  adapted  to  interest  the  youthful  mind  and  touch  to  finer 
issues  the  youthful  heart,  spoken  in  the  usual  manner.  But  I  am 
opposed  to  dramatic  representations,  accompanied,  to  use  ihe  tech 
nical  word,  with  all  the  properties.  I  do  not  know  that  any  exhi 
bition  of  this  kind  has  ever  occurred  in  connection  with  the  Free 
Schools  of  America,  and  I  hope  none  such  ever  will.  There  is  no 
talent  in  spouting.  Do  not  boys  have  too  much  inclination  for  the 
stage  already  without  its  being  stimulated  ?  And  what  a  waste  of 
time  there  is  in  getting  up  such  representations;  precious  time 
which  might  be,  and  ought  to  be,  spent  in  familiarizing  the  pupil , 
with  all  the  fundamental  branches  of  a  good,  sound,  English  edu 
cation,  without  which  they  cannot  expect  to  be  useful  to  themselves 
or  to  society. 

You  must  perceive  of  what  primary  importance  I  consider  it  is, 
that  children  should  know  the  meaning  of  every  thing  they  attempt 
to  learn.  It  is  astonishing  with  what  facility  they  will  use  words, 
or  give  an  answer,  to  which  they  attach  an  erroneous  meaning,  or 
perhaps,  no  meaning  whatever.  This  was  much  more  the  case  for 
merly  than  at  present,  since  our  fathers  did  not,  in  many  respects, 
pursue  the  natural  course  in  the  education  of  children. 

How  pleasantly  and  successfully  nature  teaches  the  infant!  No 
sooner  has  it  begun  to  exercise  its  senses,  first,  probably,  the  touch, 
in  perceiving  warmth,  to  open  its  eyes,  to  take  food,  to  perceive 
odors,  to  hear  sounds,  than  it  begins  to  acquire  knowledge.  In  the 
exercise  of  these  powers  the  infant  takes  great  delight.  That  dur 
ing  the  first  months  of  a  child's  life,  its  progress  is  highly  satisfac 
tory,  is  evident  to  a  very  ordinary  observer;  its  first  lispings  show 
how  much  interest  it  finds  in  the  appearances  of  surrounding  ob 
jects;  its  first  observations  are  listened  to  and  receive  that  degree 
of  attention  which  they  demand;  and  it  is  not  till  the  pressure  of 
other  domestic  duties,  or  other  inclinations,  divide  the  mother's- 
care,  that  the  inquiries  of  the  infant  are  neglected,  and  it  is  left, 
often  discouraged  and  disheartened.  A  child  obtains  its  notions  as 
as  we  do,  by  seeing,  sounding,  feeling,  smelling,  and  tasting  ob 
jects.  "Do  not  meddle"  puts  a  stop  to  these  processes.  In  cases 
of  doubt  and  uncertainty,  it  asks  for  information,  and  is,  perhaps, 
told,  "Little  children  should  be  seen,  and  not  heard."  After  a  few 
years,  the  child  is  placed  at  school,  where,  instead  of  that  natural 
course  being  pursued  which  should  turn  to  account  the  observa 
tions  and  knowledge  he  has  already  stored  up,  he  is  often  forced 
upon  studies  for  which  he  shows  no  inclination;  he  is  taught  ivords,^ 
instead  of  things  ;  and  his  memory  is  loaded  with  phrases  and  rules, 
which  he  does  not  understand. 

Thus,  his  education  commences,  and  thus  a  path,  which  might  be 
strewn  with  flowers  to  allure,  is  choked  with  brambles  to  impede, 
his  progress.  The  thorny  track  is  traveled  over,  and  for  a  long 
time  the  pupil  has  only  confused  notions  floating  in  his  mind,  to 
the  exclusion  of  that  precise  and  distinct  knowledge  which  lies 
within  the  grasp  of  those.^f acuities  which  nature  courts  him  to  ex- 


136  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

ercise.  We  all  know  that  in  many  schools  children  have  been 
taught,  nay,  are  even  now  taught,  as  if  they  had  to  use  only  one 
or  two  of  the  senses.  A  child  who  possesses  in  perfection  all  the 
senses,  should  have  them  all  exercised.  We  are,  none  of  us,  per 
haps,  more  than  half  educated  in  this  respect.  The  five  senses 
are  the^rneans  of  communication  between  the  outer  world  and  the 
spirit  within.  It  is  through  these  media  that  the  child  for  some 
time  receives  all  its  knowledge.  A  late  writer  says  of  the  infant 
of  two  years  old:  "  He  has  acquired  more  knowledge  during  this 
short  period  than  he  generally  does  on  the  present  plan  of  in 
struction  through  the  eight  or  ten  succeeding  years  of  his  life, 
and  it  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  benevolence  of  the  Creator,  and 
a  prelude  of  the  vast  extent  of  knowledge  the  child  is  afterwards 
capable  of  acquiring,  that  all  these  acquisitions  are  made,  not  only 
without  pain,  but,  in  the  greater  number  of  instances,  are  accom 
panied  with  the  highest  enjoyment." 

In  the  school-room,  we  should  imitate  as  much  as  possible  the 
method  of  nature.  Young  children  are  not  reflecting  or  reasoning 
beings;  they  have  no  appreciation  of  abstractions;  they  are  for  the 
tangible,  the  real,  the  concrete.  It  is  through  their  senses  that 
nature  is  acquainting  them  with  the  material  world,  and  how  fresh, 
active,  and  vigilant  their  senses  are,  and  what  untiring  pleasure 
they  take  in  their  exercise. 

Children  should  be  taught  by  things  as  much  as  possible,  by  words 
•  as  little  as  possible.  The  latter  may  kill  any  idea,  but  the  reality 
maketh  alive.  On  this  account,  I  consider  object-teaching  as  a  de 
cided  improvement  in  our  schools.  It  is  an  excellent  plan,  when 
ever  practicable,  to  show  the  scholars  whatever  may  be  the  subject 
of  the  lesson,  or,  if  that  cannot  be  done,  then  a  drawing  or  picture 
of  it.  Their  interest  is  thus  awakened;  every  eye  is  sure  to  be  wide 
open;  the  information  imparted  is  correct;  there  can  be  no  mistake 
about  it.  How  quickly,  also,  it  is  gathered;  how  much  time  it 
takes  to  convey,  by  description,  through  the  ear,  a  full  and  accur 
ate  idea  of  what  may,  perhaps,  be  understood  at  a  glance  of  the 
eye,  and  so  impressed  upon  the  mind  as  never  to  be  forgotten. 
There  are  some  teachers  who  should  be  informed  that  they  do  not 
have  under  their  charge  Institutions  for  the  Blind;  but  that  their 
pupils  have  eyes,  and  would  rejoice  in  an  opportunity  to  use 
them. 

The  importance  of  real  objects,  natural  and  artificial  models,  pic 
torial  representations,  experimental  and  other  practical  elucida 
tions,  cannot  be  too  strongly  urged  on  those  who  have  the  direction 
of  the  young  mind.  In  most  of  the  subjects  which  form  the  school 
business,  such  illustrations  may  be  introduced.  The  school-room 
should  be  furnished  with  receptacles  for  works  of  art  and  nature; 
the  pupils  themselves  would  be  the  most  valuable  and  active  con 
tributors  to  such  collections;  and  those  specimens  which  are  ap 
parently  the  most  humble  will  often  be  found  to  be  the  most  use 
ful.  Visits  to  mines,  manufactories,  to  the  sea-shore,  to  fields  and 
woods,  would  furnish  great  additions  to  such  a  store.  Minerals, 
vegetables,  woods,  metals,  animal  substances,  insects,  shells,  &c., 
are  easily  obtained.  The  arrangement  and  classification  of  these 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  137 

objects  would  call  into  exercise  faculties  which  are  now  scarcely 
ever  developed.  One  writer  says  that  he  has  known  boys  of  twelve 
years  of  age  who  could  recognize  and  refer  to  their  proper  class  al 
most  every  object  around  them  in  nature,  and  gives  it  as  his  opinion 
that  a  wide  range  of  descriptive  natural  history  may  be  imparted  at 
that  age. 

The  world  around  us  is  fair  and  beautiful,  and  full  of  wonders; 
it  is  always  speaking  to  the  heart  of  man,  though  the  cares  of  life 
may  prevent  him  from  hearing  its  voice.  But  it  is  in  the  morning  of 
life,  when  the  heart  is  free  from  anxiety,  when  the  spirits  are  light 
and  buoyant,  when  the  senses  are  the  most  acute,  the  curiosity  in 
satiable,  and  creation  fresh  and  new,  that  its  language  finds  a  will 
ing  and  a  charmed  ear. 

How  do  the  young  enjoy  the  glories  of  sunrise,  a  lovely  prospect, 
a  ramble  through  the  woods,  or  along  the  sea-shore,  and  how  much 
quicker  than  their  elders  do  they  notice  any  little  circumstance  that 
may  occur!  And  what  a  pity  it  is  to  close  upon  them  this  broad 
face  of  nature  which  God  himself  has  spread  before  them  for  their 
contemplation  and  delight,  and  shut  them  up  within  four  walls, 
where  they  are  told  to  keep  their  eyes  on  their  lessons,  which  are 
some  pages  of  a  printed  book  ?  Cage  the  lark,  tie  up  the  forest 
deer — and  you  do  not  act  more  against  nature  than  has  been  done 
in  sentencing  children  to  imprisonment  six  hours  a  day  within  the 
blank  walls  of  some  penitentiary  of  a  school-house. 

Now,  I  know  very  well  that  geography,  grammar,  and  arithmetic 
are  indispensable.  They  must  be  learnt,  and  well  learnt.  The 
fundamental  branches  of  a  good  English  education  must  not  be 
neglected.  But  while  I  would  not  have  these  in  the  least  interfered 
with,  I  would  urge  it  upon  all  connected  with  schools  not  to  disre 
gard  the  natural  sciences.  The  study  will,  I  am  sure,  contribute  to 
the  pleasure  and  improvement  of  both  teachers  and  scholars,  and 
promote,  instead  of  retarding,  the  progress  of  the  latter  in  fcheir 
other  studies.  These  first  books  'can  be  understood  by  any  teacher 
whose  "  heart  is  in  her  vocation;"  in  fact,  such  a  teacher  will  be 
delighted  with  them;  and  if  she  catches  the  true  spirit  of  observa 
tion,  she  will  be  continually  led  to  add  facts  of  her  own  gathering 
to  those  which  the  author  has  preserved. 

It  is  certainly  possible,  during  the  seven  or  eight  years  spent  in 
the  Grammar  Schools,  to  pay  some  attention  to  the  natural  sciences. 
Do  not  shut  the  children  out  from  them  during  this  the  golden 
period  of  their  lives  for  studying  them .  Consider  a  few  of  the  ad 
vantages  to  the  discipline  of  the  pupil's  mind  in  pursuing  theso 
sciences.  How  much  are  his  powers  of  observation  improved  by 
the  study  of  nature !  And  this  is  no  small  thing.  How  few  people 
see  things  just  as  they  are!  How  often  do  witnesses  under  oath 
disagree  with  regard  to  material  circumstances  in  relation  to  events 
occurring  before  their  eyes,  and  where  all  had  equal  opportunities 
of  seeing !  Men  are  unwilling  to  trust  their  own  senses  in  reference 
to  matters  a  little  out  of  the  line  of  their  own  business.  They  will 
tell  you  they  are  no  judges  in  such  cases.  Have  not  persons  been 
made  believers  in  spiritualism  and  animal  magnetism,  because  their 
9 


138  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

observing  faculties  were  not  sufficiently  awake  to  see  through  the 
deception  ? 

But  after  things  are  seen  (and  it  is  a  very  important  thing  to  see 
them  accurately  and  fully),  then  comes  the  exercise  of  the  facultyo 
of  comparison.  Now  this  faculty  implies  a  great  deal.  We  com 
pare  things,  not  merely  to  see  their  resemblances,  but  their  differ 
ences.  He  who  can  do  this  well,  is  no  ordinary  person;  he  who 
can  do  it  remarkably  well,  is  one  out  of  ten  thousand.  Men  differ 
greatly  in  their  ability  to  perceive  resemblances  and  differences. 
An  unfortunate  lawyer  is  compelled  to  take  his  seat  in  mortification, 
by  the  Judge's  showing  him  that  the  cases  he  had  cited  are  not  an 
alogous  to  that  before  the  Court,  and  consequently  not  at  all  applic 
able.  The  great  business  of  buying  and  selling  depends,  as  one 
may  say,  upon  comparison.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  best  of 
friends  will  get  angry  in  a  discussion,  when  the  difference  between 
them  is  a  trifle,  a  fact  of  which  they  may  afterwards  become  aware, 
much  to  their  astonishment.  We  consider  it  a  compliment  to  any 
one,  when  we  say  that  he  has  a  discriminating  mind;  he  can  make 
distinctions.  Now,  the  natural  sciences  teach  hoiv  to  observe,  and  how 
to  distinguish  things  correctly — which  is,  in  fact,  the  greater  part  of 
education,  and  that  in  which  people  otherwise  well  educated  are 
sometimes  surprisingly  deficient. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  course  of  study  in  the  Grammar, 
Schools  should  be  comprehensive  enough  to  meet  the  wants  and 
tastes  of  every  mind.  Now,  the  list  is  by  no  means  small  of  those 
who  have  been  pronounced  dunces  at  school,  who  have  afterwards 
been  widely  distinguished  for  their  attainments  in  science.  Hugh 
Miller,  who  has  been  mentioned,  is  an  instance  in  point.  Dr. 
Franklin  was  probably  considered  by  his  teacher  as  arithmetic 
proof,  and,  perhaps,  as  stupid  in  other  respects;  the  reason  being 
that  there  was  no  study  pursued  in  the  school  which  interested  the 
youthful  philosopher,  who  was  born  to  be  an  observer  of  nature. 
Many  other  instances  to  the  same  effect  might  be  mentioned.  In 
troduce,  then,  into  the  Common  Schools  the  study  of  Nature,  and 
make  provision  for  those  whose  tastes,  perhaps  whose  genius,  lies  in 
that  direction. 

I  know  that  the  general  impression  is,  that  the  study  of  any 
branch  of  natural  science  is  a  study  of  hard  words,  particularly  in 
the  case  of  natural  history.  It  is  surprising  to  notice  how  many 
school-books  will  commence  with  pages  of  hard  words  and  defini 
tions,  the  purpose  of  which  at  that  stage  is  unintelligible.  This  is 
not  the  case,  however,  with  the  books  I  have  mentioned.  They  are 
simple,  and  suited  to  the  3roung.  The  great  and  interesting-  facts 
are  noticed;  hard  names  are  explained,  and  the  definitions  given 
only  when  'it  becomes  necessary  in  the  course  of  the  works,  and 
thus  the  pupil  is  not  disheartened  or  disgusted  at  the  very  begin 
ning.  We  must  wait  until  the  mind  has  become  more  mature  be 
fore  the  scholar  can  attend  to  classification  or  to  generalization. 

It  must  not  be  overlooked  that,  in  consequence  of  the  great  ad 
vances  made  in  the  physical  sciences,  they  are  much  more  the 
objects  of  attention  now  than  formerly.  The  great  discoveries  of 
modern  times,  more  or  less  intimately  connected  with  the  welfare 


INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES.  139 

and  the  progress  of  society,  are  made  in  these  sciences,  and  the 
physical  arts  themselves  have  received  a  new  impulse.  We  must 
keep  pace  with  them  in  our  schools. 

The  public  are  little  awrare  how  much  interest  is  taken  by  natural 
ists  the  world  over  in  the  natural  history  of  California.  The  State 
has  been  visited  and  explored,  in  some  parts,  for  that  purpose  by 
agents  from  most  of  the  prominent  universities  and  societies  in  the 
world.  The  distinguished  naturalist,  Agassiz,  states  that  he  has  a 
friend  in  San  Francisco  who  has  sent  him  an  amount  of  specimens 
greater  than  all  those  collected  by  all  the  United  States  Exploring 
Expeditions  put  together. 

Is  it  not  high  time  for  the  citizens  of  California  to  take  an  interest 
in  this  subject,  and  to  introduce  it  into  the  Public  Schools,  so  as  to 
give  every  young  man  desirous  of  entering  upon  these  pursuits  an 
opportunity  to  make  some,  at  least,  of  the  necessary  preparations; 
and  is  there  any  country  where  such  studies  are  more  needed,  or 
will  be  more  useful  to  the  public  and  to  the  individual  ? 

There  is  a  very  strong  desire  at  the  East  to  introduce  more  ex 
tensively  into  their  schools  the  study  of  the  natural  sciences,  includ 
ing  natural  history.  They  acknowledge  their  remissness  in  this 
respect,  and  all  concur  in  the  importance  and  necessity  of  this 
change  being  made. 

In  a  lecture,  delivered  by  Agassiz,  are  the  following  remarks: 

"  Our  school  system  has  been  developed  in  a  manner  which  has 
produced  the  most  admirable  results,  and  is  imitated  everywhere  as 
the  most  complete  and  the  most  successful;  but,  while  we  have  at 
tained  the  highest  point  in  that  respect,  we  are  also  best  prepared 
by  that  very  position  to  make  any  further  improvement  which  may 
lead  to  a  better  future.  And  I  believe  that  the  introduction  of  the 
study  of  natural  history,  as  a  branch  of  the  most  elementary  educa 
tion,  is  what  can  be  added  to  what  is  already  so  admirable  a  system. 
The  difficult  art  of  thinking  can  be  acquired  more  rapidly  by  this 
method  than  by  any  other.  When  we  study  moral  or  mental  phil 
osophy  in  text-books,  which  we  commit  to  memory,  it  is  not  the 
mind  we  cultivate — it  is  the  memory  alone.  The  mind  may  come 
in;  but  if  it  does  in  that  method,  it  is  only  in  an  accessory  way. 
But  if  we  learn  to  think,  by  unfolding  thoughts  ourselves,  from  the 
examination  of  objects  around  us,  then  we  acquire  them  ourselves, 
and  we  acquire  the  ability  of  applying  our  thoughts  in  life.  The 
teacher  who  is  competent  to  teach  the  elements  of  this  science, 
must,  of  course,  feel  a  deep  interest  in  it;  he  must  know  how  to 
select  those  topics  which  are  particularly  instructive  and  best 
adapted  to  awaken  an  interest  to  sustain  it,  and  to  lead  forward  to 
the  understanding  of  more  difficult  questions.  He  should  be 
capable  of  rendering  the  subject  attractive,  interesting,  and  so 
pleasant,  indeed,  that  the  hour  for  the  school  should  be  welcomed 
by  the  scholar  instead  of  being  dreaded  as  bringing  something  im 
posed  by  duty,  and  not  desirable  in  itself." 

It  may  be  added  to  what  has  been  said  by  Agassiz,  in  illustration 
of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  the  study  of  natural  history,  that 
it  is  a  fact,  which  every  one  acquainted  with  the  subject  will  admit, 
that  our  crops  are  every  year  injured  to  the  extent  of  many  thou- 


14:0  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

sands  of  dollars  by  the  depredations  of  insects  whose  habits  are  not 
properly  understood.  In  this  way,  the  Hessian  fly,  the  canker 
worm,  the  apple  worm,  the  apple  and  peach  borers,  the  curculio, 
the  cotton  worm,  the  tobacco  worm,  the  corn  borer,  the  rice  weevil, 
the  wheat  midge,  and  other  insects  not  yet  known,  make  way  with 
capital  and  labor  to  an  enormous  extent.  There  are  many  insects 
injurious  to  the  grape-vine,  to  one  of  which  a  volume  has  been  de 
voted.  Investigations  into  the  habits  of  such  insects  have  been  at 
tended  with  the  best  results,  one  of  the  most  useful  of  which  has 
been  to  stop  the  farmer  from  destroying  his  friends  with  his  enemies 
among  insects,  as  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing.  The  best  way 
of  finding  an  effectual  remedy  for  these  injuries  is  to  diffuse  and  cul 
tivate  in  our  schools  a  taste  for  natural  history. 

In  a  moral  point  of  view,  this  study,  as  well  as  that  of  all  the 
natural  sciences,  is  of  the  highest  importance.  I  never  heard  of  a 
real  lover  of  nature  who  was  a  bad  man.  They  exhibit  to  man  the 
thoughts  of  the  Creator,  for  all  the  arrangements  which  he  sees 
around  him  are  manifestations  of  the  Divine  Mind.  In  the  book  of 
nature  we  can  read  a  portion  of  the  laws  and  the  designs  of  the 
Almighty.  The  more  diligently  any  one  pursues  these  studies  the 
more  deeply  he  is  impressed  with  the  abundant  evidences  of  the 
power,  the  wisdom,  and  the  benevolence  of  the  Creator.  He  sees 
that  a  drop  of  water  is  full  of  wonders,  as  well  as  the  starry  heavens; 
that  the  tiniest  insect  that  sports  in  the  sun-beam  is  not  so  insignif 
icant  as  to  be  beneath  the  care  of  its  Maker,  nor  the  Island  Uni 
verses,  scattered  through  the  realms  of  space,  too  vast  for  His 
power  to  control.  Every  creature  made  by  the  Divine  Hand  he 
sees  to  be  perfect,  with  an  organization  exactly  suited  to  its  wants, 
and  its  place  in  the  scale  of  being,  and  adapted  to  contribute  to  its 
happiness.  God  provided  for  all  His  creatures.  Now,  the  youth 
ful  heart  readily  understands  and  feels  the  lesson  which  Nature 
teaches;  it  will  not  rest  satisfied  merely  with  Nature  and  Nature's 
laws,  but  willingly  and  instinctively  is  led  through  them  up  to 
Nature's  God.  It  is  touched  by  His  goodness;  it  reverences  His 
power  and  majesty;  as  the  mind  expands,  it  feels  that  He  is  the 
source  !of  all  we  possess;  it  begins  to  feel  the  need  of  His  aid  and 
protection,  and  then  earnestly  to  invoke  them.  In  this  manner  it 
at  length  realizes  the  great  truth,  that  in  Him  we  live  and  move, 
and  have  our  being;  it  does  not  read  these  as  unmeaning  words, 
but  is  pervaded  with  their  deep  signification.  It  is  impressed  with 
the  heartfelt  conviction,  that  there  can  be  no  more  utter  and  dread 
ful  ruin  than  to  disobey  the  commands  of  this  Good  and  Just  Being, 
and  that  there  is  no  greater  happiness  than  to  do  His  will  and  re 
ceive  His  approbation. 

I  consider  it  an  evil  to  stimulate  the  intellect,  almost,  perhaps, 
to  its  utmost  exertions,  and  to  neglect  the  moral  training  of  the 
scholar,  or  to  treat  the  latter  as  if  it  were  of  minor  consequence,  as 
if  the  object  were  to  make  smart  linguists,  or  mathematicians,  or 
chemists,  instead  of  complete  men.  We  have,  undoubtedly,  too 
many  smart  men  in  the  world  already;  that  is,  smart  in  the  bad 
sense  of  the  word,  arid  yet,  perhaps,  in  a  sense  by  which  they  feel 
complimented. 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES .  141 

What  is  wanted  more  than  anything  else  is  true  men,  men  of 
principle,  men  fearing  God,  loving  their  neighbor,  loving  their 
whole  country,  and  cherishing  its  free  institutions;  men  who  stand 
for  the  right  as  immovable  as  the  eternal  pyramids;  whose  word, 
whose  look  is  truth  itself;  whose  honor  can  no  more  be  tarnished 
than  a  suD-beam  can  be  soiled;  in  whose  breasts  the  ruling  maxim 
is  not  "Cotton  is  king,"  nor  "  Gold  is  king/'  but  everywhere,  both 
in  their  most  secret  retirement,  as  well  as  in  public  position,  reigns, 
enthroned  in  their  hearts  and  obeyed  in  their  lives,  the  divine  prin 
ciple — DUTY  is  KING  FOREVER  ! 

Now,  the  child  is  not  all  intellect,  any  more  than  it  is  all  con 
science;  it  has  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  and  this  sense  is  silently 
addressed  in  a  hundred  different  ways,  as  the  questions  arise 
whether  the  pupil  shall  do  this  thing  or  not,  whether  he  shall  con 
fess  or  conceal  a  certain  fault,  &c.  I  know  that  the  importance  of 
this  subject  is  adequately  felt  by  the  public  school  teachers  of  San 
JFrancisco,  and  that  much  attention  is  paid  by  them  to  moral  in 
struction,  and  pains  taken  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  their  pupils 
the  great  religious  truths  in  which  all  are  agreed.  At  the  same 
time,  while  this  is  done,  all  sectarianism  is  carefully  avoided. 

I  would  have  this  moral  sense  carefully  cherished  as  the  voice  of 
God;  I  would  have  it  kept  sensitive  and  acute,  and  properly  trained 
and  educated.  I  would  have  every  part  of  the  nature  of  the  pupil 
well  and  proportionately  exercised  and  developed — the  physical,  the 
intellectual,  and  the  moral,  the  body,  the  mind,  and  the  heart;  the 
last  the  most  carefully  of  all,  since  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life. 
I  would  tell  the  pupil  that  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  is  valuable, 
"but  that,  though  his  attainments  in  science  and  art,  and  in  all  learn 
ing,  were  transcendent,  though  he  might  "speak  with  the  tongues 
•of  men  and  of  angels,"  and  "understand  all  mysteries  and  all 
knowledge/'  yet,  if  he  had  not  a  good  character,  sound  moral  prin 
ciples,  he  would  be  nothing  but  a  miserable  failure.  With  all  the 
energy  I  possessed,  and  all  the  different  methods  of  appeal  I  could 
invent,  I  would  enjoin  it  upon  him  to  strive  to  become  a  good,  true, 
.and  noble  man. 

And  such  words,  addressed  in  the  spirit  of  affection  to  the  young, 
4*0  directly  to  their  hearts.  Their  impulses  can  easily  be  turned 
into  the  right  channel.  They  have  a  desire  after  excellence  in  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge;  but  if  their  sense  of  right  and  wrong  is 
properly  appealed  to,  I  believe  it  can  be  made  the  ruling  power  of 
their  lives.  When  this  result  is  accomplished,  how  blessed  is  the 
work!  It  is  beautiful  to  look  upon  the  young,  with  their  clear  and 
honest  eyes,  their  frank  and  beaming  countenances,  their  warm  and 
pure  hearts  beating  high  with  aspirations  after  goodness  and  truth, 
and  desiring  that  every  evening  may  find  them  more  worthy  of  the 
approbation  of  their  teachers,  their  parents,  and  of  Heaven. 

Fellow  Teachers!  from  our  connection  with  the  Public  Schools, 
we  must  take  a  deep  interest  in  their  prosperity  and  success,  and 
earnestly  wish  that  each  revolving  year  may  render  them  more  effi 
cient.  The  Common  School  System  is  the  child  of  the  people,  in 
which  they  take  great  pride.  The  Public  Schools  are  emphatically 
the  People'-s  College.  From  them  graduate  the  bone  and  sinew  of 


142  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

the  community — men  of  sound  common  sense,  of  good  principles,, 
and  with  stout  hearts,  who  will  stand  by  the  Common  Schools  as 
the  bulwark  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  and  who  will  defend  them 
against  bold  and  open  attack,  or  vile  and  secret  slander.  Their 
crowning  glory  is,  that  their  doors  are  open  freely  to  all;  that  in 
them  the  poorest  child  is  the  equal  of  the  richest,  and  may  lay  the 
foundation  of  an  education  which  may  lead  him  to  employment,  to 
competence,  to  respectability,  nay,  even  to  high  station  and  to  a 
glorious  fame.  Many  a  poor  man  has  denied  himself  in  order  that 
his  little  ones  might  attend  school  decently  attired,  and  has  had  his 
last  moments  cheered  by  the  thoughts  that  he  had  faithfully  given 
his  children  every  advantage  afforded  by  the  Public  Schools — feel 
ing  in  that  fact  a  strong  assurance  of  their  future  good  conduct  and 
welfare. 

The  Common  Schools  can  show  upon  their  rolls  the  names  of  dis 
tinguished  men  who  laid  in  them  the  foundation  of  a  world-wide 
renown.  Franklin,  of  whom  I  have  spoken;  Clay,  in  the  log  cabin 
school-house  of  Peter  Deacon,  with  no  floor  but  the  earth,  and  no 
window  but  the  door;  Webster,  in  the  log  school-hoiise  kept  by 
Master  Tappan  in  the  wilds  of  New  Hampshire;  George  Stephen- 
son,  the  founder,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  the  inventor,  of  the  present 
system  of  locomotion  on  railroads,  commencing  at  eighteen  years 
of  age  in  a  village  school  to  learn  his  A,  B,  C,  like  a  little  child; 
Fulton,  Bowditch,  and  hosts  of  others.  They  commenced  life  in 
poverty.  Had  not  the  Common  School  afforded  them  an  oppor 
tunity  to  begin  their  education  free  of  expense,  how  few  of  them 
might  ever  have  been  known  to  the  world?  How  many  of  those 
yet  unborn,  and  destined  to  immortal  renown  in  their  various 
capacities,  would,  but  for  the  Free  Common  School,  be  lost  in  eter 
nal  night!  We  have  a  right,  then,  to  feel  an  honest  pride  in  this 
great  system  with  which  we  are  connected. 

Our  profession  is  humble,  laborious,  and  exhausting.  The  ser 
vices  of  the  teacher  are  not  adequately  appreciated  in  any  com 
munity.  Neither  fame  nor  wealth  belongs  to  him.  He  is  not  al 
lowed  even  the  designation — Honorable.  He  is  overworked  and 
underpaid.  And  yet  his  life  has  its  compensations.  I  know  noth 
ing  more  touching  and  more  grateful  to  the  teacher  than,  at  the 
close  of  the  year,  when  he  is  bidding  farewell  to  those  who  are 
passing  forever  from  his  care,  for  him  to  see  every  countenance 
turned  towards  him  with  affection  and  gratitude — to  know  that 
these  minds  have  received  from  him  wholesome  knowledge — that, 
by  his  influence  and  example,  good  principles  have  been  implanted 
in  their  hearts — and  that  he  has  troops  of  friends  growing  up  and 
becoming  every  year  more  numerous,  who  will  voluntarily  pay  him 
that  honor,  love,  and  obedience,  which  they  feel  to  be  due  to  the 
benefactor  of  their  youth. 

The  faithful  teacher  has  another  reward,  of  which  nothing  can 
deprive  him.  It  is  the  approbation  of  his  own  conscience;  it  is  the 
consciousness  that  he  is  humbly  imitating  the  Creator  and  Preserver 
of  all,  in  doing  good.  "  Think  not,"  said  Sydney  Smith  to  an  aged, 
poverty-stricken  master  teaching  the  art  of  reading  or  writing  to 
some  tattered  scholars,  "  you  are  teaching  that  alone;  you  are  pro- 


INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES.  143 

tecting  life,  insuring-  property,  fencing  the  altar,  guarding  the  gov 
ernment,  giving  space  and  liberty  to  all  the  fine  powers  of  man, 
and  lifting  him  up  to  his  own  place  in  the  order  of  creation."  This 
well  describes  the  nature  of  the  teacher's  office. 

It  was  the  boast  of  the  Emperor  Augustus,  that  he  found  Rome 
brick,  and  left  it  marble.  Let  it  be  the  higher  praise  of  the  Public 
School  teachers,  that  California  was  found  a  wilderness,  but  that 
they  have  contributed  by  their  exertions  to  fill  its  valleys  and  cities 
with  a  virtuous  and  intelligent  population — a  richer  treasure  than 
all  her  nodding  harvests,  than  all  her  mines  of  gold. 


4.  CONCERNING  COMMON  SENSE  IN  TEACHING/ 

It  is  one  of  the  highest  compliments  we  can  pay  a  man  to  say  that 
he  possesses  good  common  sense.  The  article  in  question  is  cer 
tainly  one  of  the  most  important  qualifications  of  a  successful 
teacher.  Call  it  "tact,"  or  "knack, "or  "  faculty,"  or  "gift, "or 
whatever  you  please,  it  implies  alwa}Ts  a  clear  conception  of  things 
as  they  exist,  and  an  adaptation  of  means  to  the  end  sought. 

In  broaching  this  subject,  I  feel  that  I  may  place  myself  in  the 
situation  of  the  learned  divine,  whose  third  and  principal  division 
of  his  discourse  was  "concerning  that  of  which  we  know  nothing." 
I  do  not  propose  to  treat  of  a  course  of  instruction  for  graded 
schools,  where  children  are  presumed  to  be  in  regular  attendance 
for  a  series  of  years,  and  where  provision  is  made  for  a  specific 
course  of  learning  for  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind;  but  to  consider 
briefly  those  schools  remote  from  cities,  and  continued  only  a  part 
of  the  year.  What  are  they  expected  to  accomplish,  and  what  view 
should  the  common  sense  teacher  take  of  his  field  of  labor  ?  Many 
of  our  public  schools,  in  the  sparsely  settled  districts  of  the  State, 
are  kept  less  than  six  months  in  the  year,  and  even  then  the  attend 
ance  is  irregular  and  inconstant.  Pupils  may  be  expected  to  attend 
school  from  the  age  of  six  to  fourteen  ;  and  allowing  six  months  at 
tendance  in  each  year — a  high  average  when  one-fourth  attend  only 
three  months  of  the  year — the  actual  time  at  school  will  be  reduced 
to  four  years.  The  question  propounded  by  common  sense  is : 
What  course  of  instruction  will  impart  the  greatest  amount  of  use 
ful  information,  and  best  fit  the  children  for  the  duties  of  common 
life? 

Now,  hardly  any  course  of  study  or  mental  exercise  can  be  sought 
out  which  shall  be  utterly  useless.  The  driest  and  dullsst  style  of 
memorizing  musty  text  books,  and  the  most  parrot-like  verbatim 
recitations,  involve  some  thought,  and  are  not  without  some  advan 
tages.  The  thoughtful  man  of  wealth,  who,  in  order  that  his  son 
should  not  grow  up  in  idleness,  compelled  him  to  wheel  a  huge  pile  of 
stones  from  one  part  of  his  garden  to  another,  and  then  wheel  them 
back  again,  and  so  kept  him  wheeling  them  back  and  forth  each 
day  of  the  year,  was  wiser  than  the  parent  who  allows  his  son  to  do 
nothing.  But  it  would  have  been  more  sensible  in  the  man  of 

*Kead  before  California  State  Teachers'  Institute,  1863. 


144  INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES. 

wealth  had  he  set  his  boy  at  work  upon  some  useful  labor,  which 
would  have  interested  his  attention,  instead  of  keeping  him  engaged 
in  unprofitable  drudgery. 

I  cannot  help  thinking  that  sometimes  in  our  schools  we  set  the 
boys  to  wheeling  stones,  instead  of  building  walls,  or  clearing  fields 
for  future  harvests.  For  instance,  keeping  a  boy  for  years  drilling 
on  the  stereotyped  forms  of  solving  Mental  Arithmetic,  committing 
a  great  mass  of  routine  verbiage,  when  he  ought  to  learn  the  simple 
forms  of  Written  Arithmetic  used  in  business  life,  is  undoubtedly 
"  wheeling  stones."  The  boy  may  repeat  the  "  solution/'  and  the 
"  forms/'  and  the  "  conclusion/'  and  the  <c  therefores,"  and  "  where 
fores/'  with  a  marvelous  skill,  and  yet  it  is  not  common-sense 
teaching.  A  man  was  brought  before  an  Eastern  king,  and  extolled 
by  the  courtiers  for  his  wonderful  powers  of  endurance,  because  he 
could  stand  on  one  leg  for  twenty-four  hours.  "A  goose  can  stand 
longer  than  that,"  said  the  king. 

When,  in  school,  we  teach  boys  and  girls  the  abstract  rules  and 
scientific  mysteries  and  technicalities  of  grammar,  training  them 
skillfully  to  analyze  complex,  compound, ;and^  involved  sentences, 
but  omitting  to  teach  them  by  daily  practice  how  to  express  com 
mon  thoughts  in  correct  English,  or  how  to  talk  correctly  in  ordi- 
nary  conversation,  without  using  provincialisms  or  cant  phrases — 
what  are  we  doing  but  keeping  them  "  wheeling  stones,"  and  feed 
ing  on  husks  ? 

When  children  study  for  years  the  columns  of  uncommon  and 
obsolescent  words,  piled  up  in  perpendicular  obelisks,  staring  them 
in  the  face  like  huge  exclamation  marks  of  wonder  and  surprise,  and 
then  leave  school  unable  to  write  a  list  of  articles  wanted  from  the 
corner  grocery  without  exciting  the  risibilities  of  the  grocery  man, 
or  are  unable  to  write  a  friendly  letter  without  offending  the  eye  by 
misspelling  the  commonest  words — what  have  they  been  doing  but 
' '  wheeling  stones  ?  " 

So  when  scholars  are  kept  forever  drilling  on  elementary  princi 
ples  and  minute  particulars,  it  is  not  in  accordance  with  common 
sense.  "Be  thorough,"  is  a  good  maxim';  but  there  is  such  a  thing 
as  being  too  thorough — of  dwelling  on  particulars,  to  the  neglect  of 
essentials.  A  teacher  may  be  painfully  particular,  like  a  good  aunt 
of  mine,  years  ago,  who  was  so  distressingly  neat  that  nobody  ever 
took  any  comfort  in  her  house. 

In  Arithmetic,  for  instance,  it  is  keeping  a  boy  wheeling  stones 
"to  discipline  his  mind"  a  month  in  learning  to  explain  in  due 
form  the  reason  of  ' '  inverting  the  divisor  in  dividing  one  fraction 
by  another,"  if  thereby  he  should  fail  to  learn  how  to  write  a  prorn- 
missory  note,  compute  simple  interest,  or  make  out  a  bill.  A 
teacher  from  a  graded  city  school  would  fail  in  an  unclassified 
school,  should  he  attempt  to  apply  the  same  test  of  thoroughness, 
or  to  pursue  the  same  exact  course  of  study.  Certain  results  must 
be  obtained,  to  the  sacrifice  of  many  particulars  which  are  all  good 
in  themselves.  |Dne  great  reason  why  self-educated  men  are  practi 
cal  workers,  is  that  they  learn  nothing  they  do  not  want  to  use,  and  so 
learn  it  well.  )  Concentration  gives  them  strength.  Napoleon  dis 
pensed  with  tents  and  luggage  in  his  great  armies,  taking  only 
what  he  wanted  to  use — the  sword  and  the  bayonet. 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  145 

It  seems  to  me — and  the  conclusion  has  been  growing  stronger 
each  year,  during  twelve  years'  experience  in  public  school  teaching 
— that  no  small  part  of  what  children  are  required  to  learn  might 
appropriately  be  headed:  "Things  worth  forgetting."  Nature  is 
wiser  than  we  are,  and  casts  off  the  useless  surplus  of  facts  and 
figures  into  utter  oblivion.  Bun  through  an  ordinary  school 
geography,  and  see  how  many  bushels  of  chaff  to  a  single  grain  of 
wheat.  Look  at  the  compendious  arithmetics,  strike  out  nine- 
tenths  of  which,  and  the  remainder  would  be  more  than  sufficient. 
Look  at  the  bulky  grammar,  grown  fat  by  feeding  on  all  other 
grammars  printed  since  Lindley  Murray's,  of  which,  not  even  the 
authors  could  carry  in  their  heads  a  moiety.  Look  at  the  school 
histories  of  our  country,  full  to  repletion  of  dates  and  chronological 
tables,  containing  more  of  details  than  any  grown  man  in  the 
United  States  could  learn  in  a  lifetime.  I  allude  to  these  only  to 
show  how  much  a  teacher  must  omit  in  the  school  text  books,  and 
how  essential  that  he  should  have  common  sense  to  guide  him  in 
selecting. 

A  four  years'  course  of  study  in  an  unclassified  school  can  neither 
be  very  complicated  nor  very  extensive.  A  matter-of-fact  teacher 
would  look  at  his  work  in  something  of  this  manner  :  These  boys 
are,  most  of  them,  to  become  farmers,  miners,  mechanics,  and 
laborers.  All  the  scholastic  education  they  receive  will  be  gained 
here.  These  girls  will,  most  of  them,  become  the  wives  of  farmers, 
miners,  mechanics,  and  laborers.  "What  instruction  is  absolutely 
essential  to  these  boys  and  girls  to  fit  them  to  grow  up  respectable 
men  and  women?  Letting  alone  the  geniuses  and  the  prodigies, 
they  are  of  average  mental  capacity.  "What  shall  be  done  with  them  ? 

First,  they  must  learn  to  read,  write,  and  spell  the  English  lan 
guage.  Reading  is  usually  taught  well  enough  for  all  practical 
purposes,  whether  according  to  elocutionary  rules  or  not  ;  but  pen 
manship  and  spelling  are  too  often  sadly  neglected.  Almost  every 
man,  in  whatever  occupation  engaged,  is  called  upon  to  write,  more 
or  less,  every  day  of  his  life.  "Writing  involves  spelling,  and  both 
are  unmistakable  evidences  of  culture,  or  want  of  it.  Teach  these 
three  things  thoroughly,  so  that  every  child  fifteen  years  of  age 
shall  be  able  to  read  readily,  to  write  legibly,  and  to  spell  correctly, 
the  words  in  the  English  language  most  used  in  common  life. 
Sacrifice  everything  to  this — even  let  algebra  remain  a  minus  quan 
tity,  and  the  higher  branches  take  a  back  seat.  They  are  of  vastly 
more  practical  value  than  arithmetic — the  trite  and  venerable 
maxim,  that  the  study  of  arithmetic  is  the  best  discipline  of  the 
mind,  so  often  quoted  by  arithmetic-run-mad  teachers,  to  the  con 
trary  notwithstanding.  A  knowledge  of  arithmetic  sufficient  to 
enable  men  and  women  to  keep  accounts  correctly,  will  suffice, 
letting  alone  the  mental  discipline  of  the  reasoning  faculties,  so 
often  harped  about.  Ben.  Franklin  was  a  dullard  in  arithmetic  ;  he 
grew  up  with  pretty  tolerable  reasoning  faculties,  because  he  kept 
his  perceptives  wide  awake.  Don't  let  arithmetic,  then,  be  the 
great  nightmare  of  the  school  to  squeeze  out  all  the  vitality  from 
the  scholars.  Most  Americans  take  naturally  to  reckoning  dollars 
and  cents,  without  the  aid  of  text  books. 


146  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

Some  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  the  world  is  necessary,  and 
particularly  that  of  our  own  country.  But  common  sense  declines 
to  expect  that  little  boys  and  girls  should  learn  the  names  and  loca 
tions  of  the  two  thousand  little  round  dots  on  the  map  of  the 
United  States,  called  towns  and  cities,  with  figures  attached  repre 
senting  the  population;  or  the  names  and  length  of  the  five 
hundred  little  black  lines,  drawn  like  spiders'  webs  over  the  map, 
representing  rivers.  Neither  is  it  necessary  that  they  should  com 
mit  to  memory  the  entire  returns  of  the  last  census.  Strike  out 
one  half  of  the  questions  and  answers  in  any  school  geography,  and 
the  remaining  twentieth  will  be  more  than  most  children  of  average 
ability  can  learn  and  retain.  How  I  wish  some  of  these  bookmakers 
had  to  learn  their  own  books!  Any  teacher  who  would  expect  or 
compel  his  scholars  to  answer  all  the  "questions  in  the  book"  on 
examination  day,  ought  to  be  indicted  for  a  lack  of  common  sense; 
and  any  committeeman  who  should  find  fault  because  the  scholars 
couldn't  answer  them,  ought  to  be  strapped  within  an  inch  of  his 
— collar.  How  many  teachers,  after  years  of  study  and  dai-ly  use  of 
the  geography,  can  remember  one  fifth  of  the  tenth-rate  rivers  and 
towns,  or  one  twentieth  of  the  hackneyed  descriptions.  I  would 
flog  a  child  of  mine  if  he  wouldn't  forget  such  rubbish. 

A  general  knowledge  of  the  leading  events  in  the  history  of  our 
own  country,  they  should  be  expected  to  acquire;  but  if,  on  examin 
ation  day,  they  fail  to  tell  the  exact  day  and  hour  on  which  every 
battle  of  King  Philip's  war,  the  French  and  Indian  war,  or  the 
Revolution,  or  the  war  of  eighteen  hundred  and  twelve,  and  exactly 
how  many  were  killed,  wounded,  and  missing;  or  should  they 
forget  that  wonderful  account  given  by  one  school  history,  of  two- 
early  settlers  of  New  England,  who  were  frightened  up  a  tree  by  a 
lion,  and  remained  there  in  perfect  terror,  and  -came  safely  down 
the  next  day! — common  sense  would  not  be  shocked. 

Next  in  importance,  comes  a  knowledge  of  language,  and  of  the 
meaning  and  use  of  words.  This  must  be  communicated  by  the- 
teacher,  in  questions  on  reading  lessons,  and  in  oral  lessons.  Dic 
tionaries  alone  cannot  impart  it.  Printed  words  are  valuable  onhr 
as  the  medium  of  ideas;  if  the  medium  is  opaque,  the  ideas  will  be 
muddy.  After  a  knowledge  of  language,  comes  the  framework  of 
grammar.  And  here,  I  think,  common  sense  steps  in  and  dictates 
that  in  order  that  scholars  may  learn  to  speak  and  write  the  English 
language  correctly,  they  should  be  exercised  in  writing  sentences,, 
and  talking  sentences,  instead  of  continually  tearing  to  pieces  the 
sentences  of  others.  Exercises  on  grammar,  sufficient  to  enable 
them  to  write  a  letter,  and  speak  plain  English  correctly,  should  be 
embraced  in  the  course. 

Some  little  knowledge  of  physiology  and  hygiene  should  be  im 
parted,  inasmuch  as  each  boy  has  to  take  care  of  his  own  body,  and 
when  he  ruins  that  by  ignorance  of  the  laws  of  health,  he  will  find 
it  very  inconvenient  to  transfer  his  knowledge  of  arithmetic  and  ac 
companying  mental  discipline  to*  Another  corpus.  And  as  most  of 
the  young  girls  will  become  mothers,  and  consequently  the  custo 
dians  of  the  constitutions  of  the  next  succeeding  generation,  common 
sense  opens  its  eyes  in  astonishment  that  committeemen  and  school 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  147' 

teachers  should  ignore  all  allusion  to  physiology,  anatomy,  and 
the  laws  of  health,  and  exalt  arithmetic,  algebra,  and  the  fashion 
able  branches. 

A  little  drawing,  a  little  vocal  music,  a  little  calisthenic  and  gym 
nastic  training,  may  be  introduced  as  incidental  amusements  and 
recreations.  Some  provision  should  be  made  during  the  whole 
course  for  daily  exercise  of  the  perceptive  and  the  expressive  facul 
ties,  as  well  as  for  the  reasoning  powers.  Children  should  be  trained 
to  habits  of  observation.  They  should  be  trained  to  distinguish 
colors;  to  tell  the  properties  of  the  common  objects  by  which 
they  are  surrounded;  should  be  taught  something  of  natural  his 
tory,  at  least  enough  to  distinguish  a  dog  from  a  coyote,  or  a 
grizzly  bear  from  a  calf,  or  potatoes  from  yams,  or  cauliflowers  from 
cabbages.  A  boy  instinctively  turns  to  stories  of  birds,  beasts,  and 
fishes. 

Herein  lies  the  most  grievous  deficiency  of  our  schools :  that  they 
deal  with  the  abstract  instead  of  the  real.  I  have  repeatedly  asked 
classes  which  could  run  off  pages  of  questions  in  geography  with 
marvelous  rapidity,  to  point  north,  and  the  direction  generally  has 
been  perpendicularly  up  to  the  zenith;  they  had  no  notion  whatever 
of  directions,  except  as  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  map.  A  city 
was  to  them  a  dot,  nothing  more;  a  river — a  crooked  line;  and  a 
mountain — a  definition.  How  many  classes  have  I  seen  versed  in 
"the  tables/' who  would  estimate  the  dimensions  of  a  room  sixteen  feet 
by  twenty,  in  numbers  ranging  from  five  and  forty  to  ten  and  eighty; 
how  many  who  could  not  estimate  the  weight  of  an  object  weighing 
five  pounds, within  four  pounds  of  its  weight;  how  many  that  had  no 
notion  of  a  mile,  except  as  three  hundred  and  twenty  rods;  how 
many  who  could  "  parse  like  a  book,"  and  yet  could  not  write  five 
consecutive  sentences  in  tolerable  English! 

If  common  sense  were  a  school-master,  he  would  look  with  fa\or 
on  the  system  of  object  training  as  supplying  a  basis  of  actual 
knowledge,  on  which  the  reasoning  faculties  should  afterwards  be 
exercised.  He  would  also  endeavor  to  collect  a  small  school  library, 
well  knowing  that  many  a  boy  who  grows  dull,  listless,  and  lazy  over 
his  set  tasks,  will  absorb  general  knowledge  from  readable  books,  as- 
a  thirsty  plant  drinks  in  the  rain-drops  of  a  summer  shower.  In 
governing  his  school,  he  would  treat  scholars  like  human  beings, 
bearing  in  mind  that  children  are  born  to  be  happy,  not  miserable; 
and  that  school  ought  to  be  made  a  pleasant  place. 

The  teacher  must  expect  to  leave  much  untaught.  If  he  attempts 
to  teach  everything,  he  will  fail;  for  nobody  ever  succeeded.  He 
must  expect  to  find  some  dull  scholars,  some  obstinate  ones,  some 
vicious  ones,  some  troublesome  ones,  some  negative  ones,  some  good 
ones;  if  he  is  a  philosopher,  gifted  with  a  sublime  common  sense, 
he  will  go  calmly  and  quietly  at  work,  do  his  duty  faithfully,  and 
not  worry  about  results — bearing  in  mind  that  all  the  stupid  boys 
and  dull  scholars,  somehow  or  other,  generally  grow  up  into  respect 
able  average  men  and  women.  .  „ 


148  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 


5.  ADDRESS  BY  THOMAS  STARR  KING.* 

This  audience,  representing  the  mothers  and  fathers,  the  official 
forces  and  the  rising  life  of  this  young,  strange  city,  are  to  be  con 
gratulated  on  the  event  and  occasion  that  calls  us  together.  We 
welcome  you  to  the  service  here  with  pride  and  joy. 

The  corner-stone  of  any  important  representative  edifice  is  laid 
with  elaborate  ceremonial.  It  is  well  to  foster  public  interest  in 
such  forms.  And  it  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be  as  fitting  to  recog 
nize,  with  public  rejoicing,  the  completion  of  a  noble  building,  the 
moment  when  the  workmen  lay  the  last  stone  of  the  turret,  the  apex 
of  the  spire,  the  final  tile  on  the  dome.  It  was  when  the  corner 
stone  of  the  earth  was  laid,  that  "  the  morning  stars  sang  together, 
and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy."  Can  we  believe — though 
we  have  no  record  or  hint  of  the  hallelujahs — that  there  was  less 
jubilance  amongst  the  holy  hosts  when  "the  heavens  and  the  earth 
were  finished,  and  all  the  host  of  them,"  and  "God  saw  everything 
that  he  had  made,  and  behold  it  was  very  good?" 

We  are  here  to  rejoice  in  this  completed  work.  There  is  very 
little  in  the  building  itself,  though  it  is  commodious  and  cheerful, 
to  awaken  any  enthusiasm.  But  as  a  school-room — a  new  structure 
to  befriend  civilization,  in  a  State  where  the  forces  of  good  and  evil 
meet  in  a  more  open  and  demonstrative  wrestle,  probably,  than 
upon  any  other  equal  area  on  the  globe — it  does  invite  us  to  be 
glad,  and  to  express  our  joy  that  it  is  added  to  the  landscape  of  the 
city,  and  has  sprung  out  of  a  deepening  popular  faith  in  the  worth 
of  education. 

And  yet  it  is  not  simply  a  new  schoolhouse  that  we  are  to  conse 
crate  to  its  noble  offices.  It  is  the  symmetry  of  an  educational 
system  in  the  city  that  we  complete  and  establish.  It  is  truly  the 
top-stone,  the  crown,  of  an  ideal  edifice,  whose  co-ordinate  parts 
are  the  excellent  common  schools  of  the  cit}r,  that  we  now  lift  to  its 
place  with  rejoicing.  If  there  were  any  influence  to  be  exerted  by 
the  establishment  of  this  High  School,  in  drawing  away  the  public 
interest  from  the  Grammar  Schools,  the  public  pride  in  them,  the 
public  readiness  to  be  taxed  to  sustain  them,  there  would  be  no 
occasion  for  gratitude  in  the  completion  of  this  building.  This 
would  be  an  unfortunate  service  and  hour.  The  Grammar  Schools 
are  the  true  fountains  of  health  and  power  in  a  community.  What 
ever  tends  to  slight  them,  or  reduce  their  efficiency,  or  throw  the 
shadow  of  public  indifference  upon  them,  is  to  be  deplored,  and  to 
be  strenuously  resisted.  The  city  and  state  are  far  more  deeply 
interested  in  the  general  diffusion  of  the  elements  of  knowledge  than 
in  the  concentration  of  learning  in  a  small  percentage  of  the  youth 
of  our  community.  WTe  want  to  equip  tens  of  thousands  for  the 
toils  and  struggles  of  life,  not  to  polish  a  few  hundreds  for  a  better 
<?hance  to  seize  its  prizes  and  wear  its  honors.  We  must  never 
forget  this.  And  if  the  erection  of  this  High  School  into  perma- 

*  Delivered  September  19,  1860,  at  the  dedication  of  the  High  School  building, 
Powell  street.  From  The  Bookseller,  the  first  educational  journal  published  in 
the  State. 


INSTITUTE  ADDKESSES. 

nence  threatened  to  abate  the  importance,  or  lower  the  dignity,  or 
drain  the  energy  of  the  Grammar  Schools,  this  building,  though  it 
were  a  hundred  times  more  elegant,  though  it  were  seemly  in  pro 
portions  as  the  Parthenon  of  Athens,  would  be  a  mistake  and  a 
disaster. 

I  cannot  but  think,  however,  that  we  strengthen  the  ordinary 
schools  of  the  city  by  confirming  this  one,  and  leading  the  com 
munity  to  regard  "it  with  more  favor  and  pride.  Not  only  is  the 
standard  of  a  free  education  raised,  but  the  earlier  removal  from 
the  Grammar  Schools  of  the  scholars  who  wish  to  pursue  a  higher 
grade  of  studies,  concentrates  the  interest  and  energies  of  the  teach 
ers  there  upon  the  progress  of  the  average  of  students.  The  ordinary 
schools  can  hardly  fail  to  give.more  thorough  training  in  the  elements 
of  English  education,  by  relieving  the  teachers  from  the  responsi 
bility  of  carrying  small  upper  classes  through  a  range  of  studies  far 
above  the  average  lessons;  and  the  ambition  that  is  excited  to  enter 
the  High  School  must  be  felt,  after  awhile,  as  a  very  serviceable 
stimulant  throughout  the  ranks  of  the  scholars  below.  Wherever 
the  plan  has  been  tried  of  projecting  schools  on  the  system  of 
Primary,  Grammar,  and  High,  it  has  been  found  that  each  grade 
helps  the  one  beneath.  No  New  England  cities  now,  I  am  sure, 
could  think  of  parting  with  their  High  Schools.  They  would 
account  it  deliberate  mutilation  of  the  symmetry  of  the  educational 
system,  and  treason  against  the  mental  rights  of  the  scholars  who 
can  spare  two  or  three  extra  years  for  instruction  and  discipline. 

And  we  must  not  fail  to  take  into  account  the  needs  and  rights  of 
the  hundred  and  fifty  youths,  of  both  sexes,  in  our  city,  who  are 
ready  and  willing  to  postpone  their  entrance  into  practical  life,  for 
the  sake  of  a  more  generous  culture.     The  free-school  system  has 
duties  to  them  as  manifest  and  binding  as  to  the  lowest  class  in  a 
Grammar  School.     Let  us  rejoice  that  we  can  fulfill  them  in  entire 
harmony  with  our  duties  to  the  mass  of  the  children  whose  education 
is  intrusted  to  us.    Let  us  rejoice  that  we  can  see  that  all  jealousies 
are  unwise.    Let  us  be  glad  and  grateful,  to-day,  that  we  strengthen 
the  whole  structure  of  our  teaching  organization  by  this  crowning 
school  to  which  we  here  devote  an  excellent  building.     The  masons- 
lay,  strong  and  compact,  the  stones  which  make  the  floor  of  the 
porch  to  an  edifice  after  the  Grecian  style.     They  rear  column  after 
column  along  its  front.    But  when  the  beautiful  entablature  is  lifted 
aloft,  to  rest  on  the  pillars,  there  is  not  only  completed  proportion, 
but  more  strength.     Each  column  is  firmer;  the  base  itself  is  forti 
fied;  and  the  edifice  stands  in  harmony  with  the  force  of  gravitation. 
So,  we  believe,  it  is  here.     We  send  strength  into  the  important 
schools  below,  the  pillars  and  pavement  of  our  public  welfare,  by 
the  import  of  this  service  of  dedication.     And  I  believe  the  whole 
system   of   education  would   attain  final   symmetry,   and   be    still 
stronger  in  all  its  parts,  if  we  had  not  only  High  Schools  in  our 
cities  and  large  towns,  but  a  free  and  largely  planned  University 
besides,  in  every  State,  in  which  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  poor 
est  could  obtain  the  best  training  which  the  resources  of  the  State 
might  afford,  free  of  cost.     When  we  get  this,  we  shall  have  the 
majestic  dome  overarching  and  strengthening  our  intellectual  temple. 
But  very  likely  in  all  this  I  am  speaking  needless  words.    Perhaps 


150  INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES. 

I  have  done  wrong  to  assume  or  hint  that  there  can  be  any  question, 
in  any  quarter,  of  the  value  of  the  school  whose  home  we  consecrate 
here,  or  of  its  advantageous  relation  to  the  other  schools  of  which 
we  are  justly  proud.  Let  us  turn  to  other  considerations  that  should 
awaken  grateful  joy  here. 

It  is  now,  throughout  this  State,  the  time  of  rejoicing  in  the  har 
vest.  We  have  been  reading  in  the  papers  glowing  accounts  of 
many  district  agricultural  fairs.  This  very  day  the  yearly  State  fair 
is  to  be  inaugurated  in  the  Capital.  What  interest  is  felt,  through 
out  the  State,  in  the  improvements  of  stock,  in  the  new  varieties  of 
fruit,  in  the  production  of  more  efficient  and  economical  machinery 
for  planting,  reaping,  threshing,  stacking!  The  man  who  refines  a 
breed  of  sheep;  the  man  who  brings  from  his  ranch  a  calf  or  colt, 
perfect  according  to  its  type;  the  man  who  displays  the  noblest  yoke 
of  steers;  the  cultivator  who  offers  to  view  the  soundest  and  sweetest 
plums,  the  most  lovely  and  savory  peach,  the  weightiest  cluster  of 
grapes,  or  who  can  say  the  wisest  word  about  preventing  the  curled 
leaf  in  peach  trees,  the  rust  in  wheat,  the  "foul  brood"  among 
bees;  yes,  the  man  who  produces  a  mammoth  pumpkin,  a  monstrous 
sweet  potato,  a  beet  that  will  half  fill  a  barrel,  a  watermelon  as  am 
ple  as  Daniel  Lambert  in  girth,  is  heard  of  throughout  a  county, 
perhaps  throughout  the  limits  of  the  State. 

What  interest  in  education  can  we  bring  yet  into  competition  with 
this  scientific  enthusiasm  for  vegetable  and  animal  products?  What 
would  the  honest  answer  be,  taking  the  State  through,  if  we  should 
ask  which  the  people  of  the  State  were  more  concerned  about,  a 
better  type  of  calves  or  a  higher  grade  of  children;  more  efficient 
grazing-grounds  or  more  thorough  school  training;  vineyards  that 
should  double  their  profits,  or  methods  of  education  that  should 
equip  pupils  twice  as  efficiently  for  noble  success  in  life;  the  reclaim 
ing  of  tule  lands,  or  the  gathering  of  twice  as  many  youth,  who 
now  receive  no  instruction,  into  the  intellectual  folds  where  they 
may  have  a  teacher's  care?  Alas!  we  know  what  it  would  be.  If 
one  tithe,  or  one  hundredth  part,  of  the  watchful,  patient,  cultured 
and  strenuous  exertion  that  has  been  expended  by  the  general  com 
munity  on  peach-raising,  short-horned  cattle,  the  perfecting  of 
horses  and  bee-culture,  during  the  last  five  years,  had  been  devoted 
to  the  training  of  children,  and  fitting  them  to  be  competent  masters 
of  their  fathers'  colts,  and  meadows,  and  carrot  fields,  the  State, 
to-day,  would  be  immeasurably  advanced,  beyond  its  present  attain 
ment,  in  civilization.  We  should  not  read  such  sad  statistics  as  are 
forced  upon  us  now,  showing  that  hardly  more  than  a  third  of  the 
children  of  the  State  attend  regularly  any  school. 

There  is  really  some  danger  that  we  shall  be  pulled  down, 
materialized,  half-barbarized,  by  the  very  advance  and  splendor  of 
our  scientific  control  of  the  elements  of  agricultural  opulence.  One 
of  our  poets  tells  us  that  now 

' '  Things  are  in  the  saddle, 
And  ride  mankind." 

It  behooves  us  to  be  a  little  careful  lest  we  cultivate  beeves  and 
racers  to  such  superiority  over  ourselves  that  they  shall  get  the 
upper  hands,  and  we  find  ourselves,  after  a  generation  or  so,  in 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  151 

which  animals  rise  and  children  sink,  yoked  and  harnessed,  owned 
~by  our  Durhams,  and  Alderneys,  and  Morgans,  and  perhaps  fatted 
for  their  advanced  and  dominant  appetites. 

The  spiritual  forces  must  be  started  soon  in  States  like  this,  and 
trained  to  ten  times  their  present  vigor,  or  we  shall  be  unable  to 
wield  the  majestic  armor  and  implements  of  our  science  and  ma 
terialistic  culture.  And  this  building,  which  lifts  the  torch  of 
education  higher,  as  a  beacon  to  the  State,  which  will  turn  out  nobler 
specimens  of  young  manhood  and  womanhood,  invites  us,  by  peculiar 
fitness,  in  this  harvest-time,  to  rejoice  in  its  completion,  and  to 
express  our  gratitude  by  elaborate  ceremonial  and  reverent  prayer. 

And  we  should  rejoice  also  to  be  here,  to-clay,  in  order  to  pay  a 
conscious  and  deliberate  tribute  to  the  service  of  teachers  in  our 
civilization.  Every  time  I  enter  a  school-building  I  travel  back  to 
the  time,  twenty  years  ago  (when  I  was  a  young  man),  when  rny 
name  was  enrolled  in  the  army  of  instructors.  During  the  three 
years  of  service  appointed  to  me  in  that  department,  I  learned  so 
much  of  the  difficulties  and  responsibilities  of  the  office,  that  the 
stepping  into  a  pulpit  seemed  like  passing  into  an  easier  sphere  of 
duty.  It  is  not  on  abstract  grounds  and  observation,  but  on  trials 
which  gave  me  my  first  knowledge  of  what  serious  responsibility  is, 
and  of  how  closely  moral  forces  must  be  allied  with  intellectual 
ones  in  every  successful  school,  that  my  own  reverence  for  the 
teacher's  call  and  duty  is  based.  And  from  that  day  to  this  it  has 
been  widening  and  deepening. 

We  do  not  pay  our  social  reverence  wisely  as  yet,  even  in  our 
most  advanced  and  thoughtful  communities.  The  men  who  do  the 
most  for  the  world  are  those  who  work  scientifically  upon  the  land, 
increasing  its  productiveness  without  exhausting  its  fertility — and 
the  men  wTho  increase  the  mental  and  moral  forces  of  the  State. 
These  classes  are  the  fountains  of  lasting  power,  and  the  true  con 
servators  of  public  health  and  vigor.  In  a  truly  ordered  society, 
these  classes  would  receive  the  heartiest  and  most  stable  honor. 

But  as  yet,  alas,  even  in  the  most  Christian  districts  of  society, 
the  question  is  scarcely  raised,  as  a  condition  and  gauge  of  respect, 
what  the  relation  is  between  his  employment  and  the  permanent 
benefit  of  the  community — what  the  moral  aroma  is  of  a  man's  gold 
and  position.  And  so  the  best  men  work  with  very  little  recognition. 
The  most  useful  ministers  are  those  who  work  through  years  of 
quiet  fidelity,  encouraging  good  purposes  in  the  village  circle,  warn 
ing  with  sincere  and  uneloquent  unction,  the  humble  and  steady 
friend  of  humble  people,  threading  the  life  of  a  small  community, 
through  more  than  the  years  of  a  generation,  with  a  golden  influence 
of  charity,  and  fortunate  in  not  having  to  see  their  names  in  half 
the  issues  of  the  newspaper  press.  Some  of  the  purest  pages  of 
heroism  might  be  copied  from  the  long  careers  of  country  physicians, 
who  spend  themselves  without  the  patronage  and  solace  of  cultured 
society,  and  cross  the  line  of  old  age  without  a  competence. 

In  the  case  of  teachers,  however,  the  fact  is  peculiarly  striking. 
Think  what  an  influence,  during  the  past  ten  years,  has  been  exerted 
upon  the  intellect  and  character  of  the  best  portions  of  our  country, 
by  the  ambition  of  teachers  to  be  more  efficient  in  their  work,  by 
the  establishment  of  journals  of  education,  by  county,  district  and 


152  INSTITUTE  ADDKESSES. 

State  conventions  of  instructors,  not  sunned  by  public  applause, 
not  paid  for  by  the  public  either,  in  which  the  wisest  unfold  the 
best  results  of  their  experience,  and  the  youngest  are  stimulated  by 
the  contagious  enthusiasm  of  the  leading  masters  of  the  profession  I 

"Profession,"  did  I  say?  No.  Here  is  the  injustice;  here  is  the 
proof  of  the  marvelous  infidelity  of  our  public  as  yet  to  the  service 
which  can  hardly  be  surpassed  by  any  other  type.  American  liberty 
and  hopes  are  based  on  comprehensive  education — mental  and 
moral — and  we  do  not  yet  recognize  the  teacher's  calling  as  one  of 
the  "learned  professions."  There  is  the  degree  of  M.D.,  a  title  of 
respect  for  every  one  who  enters  the  ranks  of  the  healers  by  the 
regular  door.  Every  clergyman  has  his  prefix  of  "Rev.,"  which 
floats  him  sometimes  like  a  cork  upon  waters  where  he  could  not 
swim.  "D.D."  is  conferred,  every  year,  upon  many  a  man  who  is 
no  scholar  in  Christian  history  or  dogmatics.  I  have  known  cases 
where  LL.D.  has  been  affixed,  by  prominent  colleges,  to  the  names 
of  men  who  could  not  have  told  what  the  two  L's,  with  a  period 
after  them,  were  the  abbreviation  of.  But  there  is  no  title  for  teach 
ers.  And  I  am  ignorant  of  the  fact  if  any  University  or  College  has- 
yet  sought  out  an  eminent,  consecrated,  thoroughly  efficient  teacher, 
to  confer  upon  him  or  her  any  title  of  honor  as  an  acknowledgment 
of  personal  service  to  society,  or  the  rank  of  the  calling  to  which  he 
or  she  is  pledged. 

We  must  do  what  we  can  to  repair  this  injustice — we  who  know 
the  value  of  the  office,  the  grand  proportion  of  the  gifts  that  are  so 
often  brought  to  it,  and  the  nobleness  of  the  spirit  in  which  those 
gifts  are  frequentty  dedicated. 

Let  us  make  this  festival  time,  in  the  consecration  of  this  building, 
a  season  in  which  we  pledge  ourselves  to  greater  interest  in  the  school 
cause  in  this  city  and  State.  It  is  not  in  the  structure  we  are  inter 
ested,  so  much  as  in  the  edifice  of  education  itself,  which  has  been 
erected  here  by  faithful,  far-seeing  men,  against  the  opposition  of 
lazy  wealth  and  skeptical  hearts.  It  is  not  the  porch  and  hall  and 
seats  and  roof  that  we  are  grateful  for,  so  much  as  the  wise  manage 
ment  and  skilled  instruction,  which,  so  successful  in  the  past,  are  ta 
have  a  better  inclosure  for  their  operation  in  years  to  come. 

Would  that  the  services  of  this  day  might  be  more  joyous  and 
welcome  by  the  appearance  here  of  the  philosophical  apparatus  that 
is  needed  by  the  teachers,  and  would  be  in  various  ways  a  benefit  to 
the  community !  The  $3000  which  it  would  cost  ought  to  be  con 
tributed  by  the  wealth  of  San  Francisco  the  next  week,  and  would 
be,  if  we  were  not  still  in  our  public  life  so  blind  to  the  immense 
meaning  and  value  of  public  education.  And  let  us  cherish  a  deeper 
respect  for  the  office  and  influence  of  every  good  teacher,  as  we 
recognize  here  anew  the  solid  truth  of  a  noble  American  poet's, 
words : 

"The  riches  of  the  commonwealth 
Are  free,  strong  minds,  and  hearts  of  health; 
And  more  to  her  than  gold  or  grain, 
The  cunning  hand  and  cultured  brain. 

She  heeds  no  skeptic's  puny  hands, 

While  near  her  school  the  church-spire  stands; 

Nor  fears  the  blinded  bigot's  rule, 

While  near  her  church- spire  stands  the  school." 


INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES.  153 


6.  MORAL   INSTRUCTION.* 

The  fervent  prayer  which  every  parent  offers  is,  that  whatever  pov 
erty, 'destitution,  pain  or  misery,  his  children  may  be  called  upon  to 
bear,  God  will  mercifully  grant  that  they  may  preserve  their  purity, 
and  all  be  found  at  last  worthy  to  be  reunited  in  that  kingdom  pre 
pared  for  the  just,  beyond  the  grave. 

The  faithful  teacher,  occupying  as  he  does,  for  a  time,  the  parent's 
place,  must  feel  a  similar  anxiety,  as  he  looks  round  upon  those 
placed  under  his  charge.  His  situation  is  inferior  in  responsibility 
only  to  that  of  the  parent.  Indeed,  since  so  many  parents  neglect 
their  duty  in  this  respect,  his  influence  upon  those  who  continue  for 
any  length  of  time  under  his  charge,  is  probably  not  surpassed  by 
that  of  any  other  class  of  men  in  the  community.  He  must  often 
seriously  ask  what  will  be  the  lot  of-  those  committed  to  his  trust. 
Could  the  veil  with  which  Heaven  conceals  the  future  be  removed, 
would  he  behold  this  noble  and  ingenuous  boy,  with  heart  full  of 
aspirations  after  all  excellence,  still  rising  higher  and  higher,  or 
would  he  behold  him  descend  from  the  lofty  heights  of  honorable 
renown,  and  become  dishonored,  degraded,  and  corrupt?  This 
fair  girl,  with  the  light  of  Heaven  in  her  eye,  and  its  purity  sur 
rounding  her  as  with  an  atmosphere  of  holiness,  would  she  be  seen 
still  the  same  in  her  spotlessness  and  innocence,  or  would  the  light 
be  extinguished,  the  glory  have  departed,  and  nothing  remain  but 
the  wreck  of  what  was  once  so  lovely  and  so  promising  ? 

It  is  related  that  an  Eastern  prince  once  offered  a  prize  to  be  given 
to  the  most  beautiful  boy  in  all  his  dominions.  Many  were  pre 
sented  for  the  premium,  but  it  was  bestowed,  by  acclamation,  upon 
one  for  his  transcendent  and  angelic  loveliness.  So  beautiful  a  boy 
had  never  been  seen  upon  the  earth  before.  Some  years  after,  the 
same  prince  again  offered  a  prize — but  this  time  it  was  for  the 
ugliest  man  to  be  found  in  all  his  possessions.  Diligent  search  was 
made;  many  exhibited  themselves  to  view,  of  all  kinds  and  degrees 
of  ugliness,  but  among  them  it  was  difficult  to  make  a  choice,  until 
one  day  there  was  brought  into  the  royal  presence  a  being,  if  he 
could  be  called  a  man,  so  hideous,  so  loathsome,  so  bestial,  that  the 
people  shuddered  while  they  gazed  upon  him.  Sin  had  stamped  its 
polluting  mark  upon  every  feature;  from  every  wrinkle  in  that  hor 
rible  face  stared  out  a  vice.  Upon  inquiry,  it  was  ascertained  that 
this  frightful  and  disgusting  wretch  had  been  the  attractive  and 
lovely  boy.  A  life  of  intemperance,  sensuality,  and  iniquity,  had 
made  the  awful  change.  God  save  our  pupils  from  any  and  all  the 
causes  tending  to  produce  so  terrible  an  alteration. 

In  view  of  the  great  responsibility  pressing  upon  every  teacher 
to  do  all  in  his  power  to  train  up  his  pupils  to  a  life  of  virtue  and 
excellence,  I  invite  your  attention  to  some  remarks  upon  the  import 
ance  of  Moral  Instruction.  I  Have  a  fear  that  some  few  teachers  (I 
know  they  must  be  very  few)  may  think  their  duty  done  if  they  pre 
serve  good  order  in  the  school,  and  give  instruction  to  their  scholars 
in  the  course  of  study  prescribed.  But  no  teacher,  who  has  an 

*Read  before  the  State  Teachers'  Institute,  Sept.,  1862. 

10 


154  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

adequate  sense  of  the  responsibilities  devolving  upon  him,  can 
entertain  this  opinion.  His  duty  is  not  performed  by  merely  culti 
vating  the  intellect.  He  must  also  educate  the  heart.  No  parent 
would  consider  any  teacher  fit  for  his  post,  who  not  only  did  not 
check  even  the  slightest  infringement  of  morality,  but  who  did  not 
endeavor  to  elevate  his  whole  school  to  a  high  standard  of  moral 
excellence.  To  think  otherwise  is  a  great  mistake — and  the  popular 
notion  of  education  falls  in  with  and  confirms  this  mistake.  Talk 
about  giving  a  young  man  the  advantages  of  education,  and  the 
thoughts  immediately  run  on  what  is  taught  in  schools  and  colleges. 
Speak  of  giving  a  young  lady  a  finished  education,  and  almost  every 
one  wishes  to  have  the  seminary  pointed  out  where  she  can  accom 
plish,  in  the  shortest  space  of  time,  botany,  French  and  Italian, 
music,  and  drawing,  besides  a  few  of  the  ordinary  branches.  As 
if  what  is  taught  in  schools  and  seminaries  were  able,  of  itself,  to 
make  one  either  great,  or  good,  or  happy. 

The  truth  is,  my  friends,  that  hitherto,  all  over  the  world,  the  cul 
tivation  of  the  head  has  been  regarded  as  the  principal  thing,  while 
the  cultivation  of  the  heart  comes  in  only  incidentally.  Speak  of 
any  school,  and  most  probably  the  conversation  will  be  upon  who  is 
the  best  scholar  in  the  school.  Talk  about  college,  and  a  cer 
tain  young  man  is  pointed  out  to  you  as  the  first  scholar  in  his  class. 
Ten  prizes  are  offered  for  intellectual,  to  one  for  moral  excellence. 
The  student  who  can  make  the  best  Greek  verses,  or  run  through  a 
complicated  mathematical  demonstration,  or  write  the  most  flowery 
oration,  or  deliver  it  in  the  most  eloquent  manner,  is  the  recipient 
of  the  honors,  while  one,  perhaps  infinitely  his  superior  in  moral 
character,  but  not  possessing  his  precocity  or  assurance,  is  passed 
by  unnoticed.  Now  this  is  surely  wrong.  The  heart  is  of  more  im- 
portance  than  the  head.  The  essence  of  greatness,  always  and 
everywhere,  is  a  great  spirit.  Acquisitions  and  attainments  are  not 
the  man;  they  are  mere  additions  to  him.  Intellectual  talents  are 
not  the  man;  they  are  merely  the  instruments  he  uses.  The  man 
himself  is  behind  them  all,  and  he  may  use  them  either  for  good  or 
for  evil.  The  spirit  with  which  a  man  works,  the  motives  which 
prompt  his  conduct — these  show  us  and  constitute  the  man,  and 
these  are  moral  qualities,  springing  from  and  dwelling  in  the  heart. 
The  character  is  the  man;  the  life,  in  its  every  particular,  which  one 
lives,  is  the  man;  and  what  is  it  that  makes  life  what  it  is  but  the 
man's  motives,  his  moral  qualities,  his  heart.  Therefore  we  are  told 
that  God  judgeth  the  heart;  that  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 
righteousness;  that  out  of  that,  and  out  of  that  alone,  "are  the 
issues  of  life/'  And,  therefore,  I  repeat,  the  heart  is  more  than  the 
head. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  says:  "We  shall  never  learn,  and  feel,  and  re- 
spect  our  real  calling  and  destiny,  unless  we  have  taught  ourselves 
to  consider  everything  as  moonshine,  compared  with  the  education 
^k)f  the  heart."  When,  after  his  fruitless  journey  for  health,  he  had 
returned  to  Scotland  and  to  Abbotsford,  as  he  was  near  his  end,  he 
said  to  his  son-in-law,  "  Lockhart,  I  may  have  but  a  minute  to  speak 
with  3rou.  My  dear,  be  a  good  man;  be  virtuous,  be  religious;  be  a 
good  man.  Nothing  else  will  give  you  any  comfort  when  you  come 
to  lie  here." 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  155 

"  Here  was  a  man,"  remarks  a  writer,  "who  Lad  won  the  highest 
prizes  of  life;  had  gained  the  most  splendid  literary  reputation;  had 
been  honored,  flattered  and  caressed  as  few  men  have  ever  been; 
.and  yet,  at  the  last  moment,  falls  back  for  support  on  moral  and  re 
ligious  faith — that  possession  which  all  may  earn." 

Horace  Mann,  as  the  shades  of  death  were  gathering  around  him, 
was  heard  to  utter  the  words,  "God — man — duty" — and  shortly 
after,  bidding  all  near  him  "Good  night,"  sank  quietly  into  that 
last,  deep,  sleep,  which  knows  no  waking  in  this  world.  But  who 
that  witnessed  his  peaceful  and  joyful  end  would  not  say,  with  the 
poet, 

' '  That  deeper  shade  shall  fade  away, 

That  deeper  sleep  shall  leave  his  eyes; 
Thy  light  shall  give  eternal  day, 
Thy  love  the  rapture  of  the  skies." 

The  formation  of  an  honorable,  upright,  Christian  character,  ig 
the  great  business,  the  great  success  of  life.  This  must  be  done,  or 
nothing  is  accomplished.  Do  this  first;  do  this  at  any  rate;  do  this 
even  if  everything  else  is  left  undone;  though  that  sacrifice  is  not 
required  of  us.  What  parent  would  not  prefer  his  child  should 
leave  school  with  good  principles,  well  settled,  his  heart  in  the  right 
place,  even  though  he  might  be  deficient  in  knowledge,  to  seeing  him 
adorned  with  all  the  accomplishments  taught  in  the  schools,  if,  at 
the  same  time,  he  fears  that  he  is  compelled  to  distrust  the  sound 
ness  of  his  moral  character  ?  What  man  or  woman  does  not  demand 
of  his  friend  that  he  shall  first  be  true,  sincere,  hearty,  whether  pos 
sessed  or  not  of  any  remarkable  intellectual  penetration  or  sagacity? 

Now,  I  am  not  deciding  intellectual  attainments — I  value  them 
highly — but  I  am  only  placing  them  on  their  true  level,  namely,  be 
low  moral  attainments.  It  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  that  the 
pupils  in  our  schools  should  be  well  instructed  in  the  branches  taught 
in  them;  and  any  teacher  who  succeeds  in  so  doing  has  accomplished 
-a  great  good.  But  it  is  of  the  highest  consequence,  it  is  absolutely 
necessary,  that  we  should  all  become  good  men  and  good  women. 
For  that  purpose,  infinitely  above  all  others,  we  were  sent  into  the 
world.  For  that  purpose,  the  world  and  all  that  belongs  to  it  were 
created.  For  that  purpose,  the  sun  shines  upon  man,  the  winds  in- 
invigorate  his  blood,  the  rains  descend  upon  his  fields,  society  sur 
rounds  him  with  its  blessings,  and  wife  and  children  warm  his  heart 
and  strengthen  his  arm  to  action.  For  this  purpose,  above  all 
others,  the  school-house,  as  well  as  the  house  of  God,  was  reared. 

I  see  no  proper  use  of  language  in  those  who  speak  of  the  godlike 
intellect  of  such  a  man,  or  of  another  as  having  a  gigantic  under 
standing.  We  have  all  heard  the  observation,  "Sir,  he  is  the  most 
remarkable  man  in  America."  You  may  be  certain  that  man  is  not 
remarkable  for  moral  qualities.  A  godlike,  a  gigantic  intellect  as 
cribed,  to  a  mere  creature  of  an  hour!  When  the  more  we  know 
only  shows  us  the  immensity  of  our  ignorance.  How  true  it  is,  also, 
that  purely  great  intellectual  achievements  cannot  be  understood  by 
the  great  majority  of  mankind!  I  suppose  there  are  not  one  thou 
sand  persons  in  the  world  that  can  go  through  the  steps  of  the 
reasoning  by  which  Leverrier  proved  the  existence  of  the  new  planet, 


156  INSTITUTE  ADDEESSES. 

and  determined  its  position.  But  the  triumphs  of  goodness  are  at 
once  felt  and  acknowledged  by  all.  We  are  through  them  made 
personally  acquainted  with  the  individuals  by  whom  they  are  accom 
plished.  Howard  and  Florence  Nightingale  are  household  words. 
Every  deed  of  true  heroism,  of  self-sacrifice,  of  devoted  patriotism r. 
of  love  to  brother  man,  thrills  the  heart  of  the  world.  The  heart  is 
quicker,  and  keener,  and  truer  in  insight  than  the  head. 

"One  touch  of  goodness  makes  the  whole  world  kin." 

The  best  eulogy  ever  pronounced  upon  George  Washington  was 
that  which  declared  him  to  be  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen. 

I  do  not  intend  to  go  into  detail  upon  the  best  methods  of  impart 
ing  moral  instruction  to  the  young.  Here  again  the  heart  is  of  more 
worth  than  the  head.  Every  teacher  who  really  arid  earnestly  feels 
the  importance  of  this  work,  will  instinctively  select  and  adopt  the 
best  methods.  One  thing,  however,  may  be  said — that  moral  instruc-  , 
tion  cannot  commence  too  early.  Its  essence  lies  in  training  chil 
dren  to  do  right;  and  they  understand  the  difference  between  right 
and  wrong  even  before  they  can  talk.  An  essayist — commenting  on 
the  fact  that  sometimes  a  man,  characterized  by  genuine  piety  during" 
early  and  late  manhood  and  into  old  age,  has,  when  he  fell  into  sec 
ond  childhood,  broken  out  into  profanity,  and  manifested  evil  habits 
that  surprised,  if  not  shocked  his  friends — says  that  second  child 
hood  is  but  a  repetition  of  first  childhood,  and  that  the  follies,  bad 
habits,  and  vices,  which  were  allowed  to  pass  unchecked  in  child 
hood,  will  be  likely  to  reappear  in  dotage.  If  this  is  so,  it  shows  us 
of  what  great  importance  is  careful  and  judicious  moral  instruction 
in  early  life.  The  lessons  then  received  are  never  entirely  obliter 
ated.  It  is  in  the  morning  of  life  that  the  seeds  of  good  principles 
must  be  planted.  Do  not  be  disappointed  if  you  do  not  meet  with 
immediate  or  speedy  good  results.  Think  how  slowly  the  world  is-' 
improving.  A  higher  morality,  even  more  than  a  higher  intelli 
gence,  is  frequently  a  plant  of  slow  growth.  I  suppose  there  is 
nothing  which  makes  a  greater  demand  upon  the  parent's  or  teach 
er's  patience  than  the  slowness  with  which  a  wayward  and  obstinate 
child  improves. 

Sometimes,  perhaps  for  years,  the  course  appears  to  be  all  down 
hill.  But  persevere;  still  exercise  love,  patience,  and  hope.  Years- 
after,  when  the  child  has  long  since  left  your  care,  when  the  good 
seed  which  you  sowed  seems  to  have  been  lost  forever,  and  the 
ground  choked  up  with  rank  and  noxious  weeds,  a  tempest  of  afflic 
tion  may  rush  over  the  place  and  sweep  off  the  brambles  and  thistles, 
and  then  may  appear,  "first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear,"  until  the  fields  are  white  with  an  abundant  harvest, 
fit  to  be  gathered  into  the  granary  of  the  Lord. 

Moral  instruction  is  not  to  be  conveyed  to  the  young  by  preach 
ing  or  lecturing.  It  is  a  work  to  be  performed.  "Train  up  a  child 
in  the  way  he  should  go,"  says  the  Good  Book.  The  teacher  must 
be  diligent  in  seeing  that  the  child  acquires  good  habits— habits  of 
obedience,  order,  punctuality,  method,  neatness,  studiousiiess,  gen 
tleness,  courtesy,  respect  for  elders,  reverence  for  the  law,  and  a 
love  and  devotion  for  his  country,  which  knows  not  and  never  can 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  157 

Imow  "a  shadow  of  turning."  Teach  him  to  check  the  first  symp 
toms  of  envy,  jealousy,  cruelty,  arrogance;  to  be  honest  in  word 
and  deed;  to  think  the  truth,  to  speak  the  truth,  to  act  the  truth, 
and  to  shrink  from  using  a  profane  word  as  he  would  from  touching 
his  tongue  to  red-hot  iron.  Show  him  that  the  brave  man  never 
brags;  that  true  courage  is  in  daring  to  do  right;  that  the  man  of 
high  and  noble  spirit  will  forgive  an  injury  rather  than  avenge  it, 
because  he  infinitely  prefers  to  suffer  rather  than  to  do  wrong.  And 
finally,  impress  him  with  the  conviction  that  the  greatest  victory  is< 
not  over  one's  enemies,  but  over  one's  self;  that  the  sight  upon 
which  Heaven  smiles  is  that  of  the  good  man  relieving  and  comfort 
ing  his  fellow-man  in  distress;  and  that  "the  fear  of  God  is  the 
beginning  of  wisdom." 

I  have  said  that  the  influence  of  the  faithful  teacher  is  not  sur 
passed  by  that  of  any  other  class  in  the  community.  Listen  to 
Martin  Luther's  words : 

"  The  diligent  and  pious  teacher,  who  properly  instructeth  and 
traineth  the  young,  can  never  be  fully  rewarded  with  money.  If  I 
were  to  leave  my  office  as  preacher,  I  would  next  choose  that  of 
schoolmaster,  or  teacher,  for  I  know  that,  next  to  preaching,  this  is 
the  greatest,  best,  and  most  useful  vocation;  and  I  am  not  quite  sure 
which  of  the  two  is  the  better;  for  it  is  hard  to  reform  old  sinners, 
with  whom  the  preacher  has  to  do,  while  the  young  tree  can  be 
made  to  bend  without  breaking." 

A  distinguished  educator  remarks: 

"Next  in  rank  and  efficacy  to  that  pure  and  holy  source  of  moral 
influence,  the  mother,  is  that  of  the  schoolmaster.  It  is  powerful 
already.  What  would  it  be  if,  in  every  one  of  those  school  districts 
which  we  now  count  by  annually-increasing  thousands,  there  was  to 
be  found  a  teacher  well-informed,  without  pedantry;  religious, 
without  bigotry;  proud  and  fond  of  his  profession,  and  honored  in 
the  discharge  of  its  duties?  How  wide  would  be  the  intellectual, 
the  moral  influence  of  such  a  body  of  men?" 

This  is  the  opinion  of  every  enlightened  man  upon  the  nature  of 
the  teacher's  office.  Let  us  endeavor  to  justify  it  in  every  particu 
lar,  and  then  we  shall  elevate  our  vocation  to  the  true  position  which 
it  ought  to  occupy. 

In  the  remarks  I  have  made  upon  the  propriety  and  necessity  of 
moral  instruction,  based  upon  our  duty  to  God,  I  do  not  mean  that 
there  should  be  any  formality,  any  affected  sanctity,  or  any  preten 
sions  to  superior  holiness  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  God  forbid.  I 
would  have  him  as  pleasant,  and  cheerful,  and  honest,  as  a  summer's 
day.  I  would  not  have  the  moral  lessons  occupy  too  much  time,  or 
crowd  out  the  other  indispensable  studies  of  the  school.  But  I 
would  have  them  receive  all  the  share  of  attention  which  their  im 
portance  demands.  The  judicious  teacher  will  avail  himself  of  the 
favorable  moment  for  making  the  right  impression  upon  the  minds 
of  his  scholars. 

I  am  conscious  that  I  have  very  imperfectly  presented  this  subject  to 
your  consideration.  But  I  do  not  exaggerate  its  importance.  If  I 
Lave  said  anything  which  is  true,  anything  which  really  bears  upon 
the  most  important  question  which  can  be  submitted  to  any  human 


158  INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES. 

being,  I  urge  and  entreat  you  to  give  it  careful  thought,  to  allow  it- 
all  the  weight  to  which  it  is  fairly  entitled.  So  shall  your  influence' 
never  be  lost,  but  go  on,  extending  and  widening.  No  sincere  effort 
to  promote  the  good  of  others  can  be  wholly  ineffectual.  I  remem 
ber  the  kindly  tones,  the  pleasant  face,  the  affectionate  warning,  and 
the  cheering  words  of  encouragement  of  a  teacher  under  whose  care 
I  was  placed  when  a  small  boy.  The  influence  which  he  exerted 
upon  me  will,  I  think,  be  felt  forever;  and  it  is  an  influence  always 
leading  to  right.  I  shall  never  forget  him.  How  often  do  I  see 
him  in  imagination !  He  is  living  at  the  present  time,  and  if  he  knew 
that  I  have  been  thinking  and  speaking  of  him  to-day  to  an  audience 
of  teachers  upon  the  distant  Pacific  coast,  his  first  emotion  would  be 
that  of  surprise  that  I  still  think  of  him  after  the  lapse  of  so  many- 
years;  the  second  would  be  a  thrill  of  joyful  gratitude  to  God  that 
his  counsels  had  made  so  deep  an  impression  upon  the  minds  of  his 
scholars,  that  he  had  been  remembered  with  esteem  and  affection. 

May  our  efforts  be  such  in  relation  to  all  who  may  be  entrusted  to 
our  care  that  hereafter,  wherever  the  lot  of  our  pupils  may  be  cast 
upon  the  broad  earth,  they  may  look  back  upon  the  school-house 
which  they  attended,  as  the  place  where  they  received,  besides  all 
useful  learning,  a  love  for  all  that  is  good,  pure,  and  honorable, 
which  has  never  left  them,  but  exerts  an  abiding  influence  on  their 
characters.  So  shall  your  memory  be  ever  kept  green  in  their 
hearts;  so  shall  your  faithful  efforts  be  blessed  in  their  lives. 


PHYSICAL    TRAINING.* 

Intellectual  training  being  the  main  object  of  the  public  schools,, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  the  body  has  too  often  been  remorselessly 
sacrificed  to  the  brain. 

The  neglect  of  physical  culture  having  produced  a  long  train  of 
evils,  too  serious  to  be  longer  evaded  by  the  most  stubborn  conserva 
tives,  the  result  is,  that  systematic  physical  training  is  beginning  to 
be  recognized  as  a  duty  in  the  public  schools  of  the  United  States. 

In  some  schools,  gymnastic  and  calisthenic  exercises  form  a  part 
of  the  daily  drill  of  pupils,  quite  as  regularly  as  the  mental  exer 
cises  in  arithmetic  and  grammar.  In  some  colleges,  muscular  train 
ing  in  the  gymnasium  is  insisted  on  quite  as  strenuously  as  a 
knowledge  of  the  classics.  They  are  using  their  gymnasiums  to 
build  up  stout  bodies,  as  well  as  strong  minds.  A  four  years'  war 
taught  the  nation  to  place  a  higher  value  on  physical  manhood.  In 
many  public  schools,  the  elements  of  military  drill  have  been  intro 
duced,  and,  under  the  stimulus  of  the  war  spirit,  successfully  car 
ried  into  effect.  But  the  first  great  requisites  for  good  soldiers, 
before  which  all  others  sink  into  insignificance,  are  sound  health, 
activity,  and  power  of  endurance.  The  rawest  recruits  can  be 
taught  to  handle  a  musket  in  a  few  weeks,  but  muscles  of  iron  and 
sinews  of  steel  cannot  be  fastened  upon  men  like  knapsacks.  The 
Greek  and  Koman  veterans  were  trained  from  boyhood,  by  gymnastic 

*First  Biennial  Report,  1865. 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  159 

exercises,  and  athletic  games  and  sports.  To  lay  a  solid  foundation 
for  our  own  military  strength  as  a  nation,  we  must  begin  with  the 
three  millions  of  boys  in  our  public  schools;  and,  while  we  breathe 
into  their  hearts  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  we  must  train  them  to  a 
muscular  power  which  will  give  us  fit  soldiers  to  fight  and  win  the 
battles  of  the  republic.  Ten  years  of  boy-life  in  schools  where 
regular  gymnastic  drill  is  followed  up,  and  where  a  fondness  for  all 
athletic  games  and  sports  is  cultivated,  will  make  a  good  foundation 
for  military  drill. 

Physical  training  is  important  as  an  efficient  aid  to  mental  culture. 
It  comes  into  school  as  an  amusement,  a  relaxation  from  the  hard 
work  of  mental  application.  School  amusements  are  a  necessity  of 
childhood.  One  of  the  greatest  defects  of  our  schools,  is  their 
failure  to  recognize  the  laws  of  animal  life. 

In  Germany  and  Prussia,  the  children  are  trained  in  the  schools 
to  gymnastic  and  athletic  exercises;  and  the  result  is  a  national  trait 
of  fondness  for  out-of-door  life.  English  schools  are  noted  for 
rough-and-tumble  games,  foot-ball,  cricket,  leaping,  running,  wrest 
ling,  rowing,  boxing,  and  fencing.  Pluck  is  a  national  trait  of 
English  school-boys,  and  of  English  men. 

Amusement,  in  all  nations  and  among  all  people,  in  some  form, 
comes  in  to  lighten  the  burden  pf  toil.  Labor  is  a  means,  not  an 
end;  and  the  true  end  of  life,  usefulness  and  happiness,  lies  in  the 
golden  mean,  the  alternation  of  labor,  rest,  and  amusement. 

"When  the  only  standing  recreation  of  the  American  people  is  busi 
ness,  and  their  lighter  amusements  billiards  and  the  ball-room,  we 
have  little  reason  to  expect  great  fondness  for  sports  in  schools. 
This  distaste  for  fun  and  frolic  comes  down  to  us  as  a  natural  inherit 
ance.  The  grave  old  Puritans,  who  settled  New  England,  and  laid 
in  granite  the  foundation  of  the  nation,  had  too  much  hard  work  to 
do  in  clearing  farms  and  hunting  Indians,  to  think  much  of  amuse 
ments.  They  brought  with  them,  too,  something  of  the  old  Round 
head  antipathy  to  May-poles,  dancing,  and  theatres. 

"Whatever  may  be  the  reason,  it  is  certain  that  the  Americans,  as 
a  people,  have  little  fondness  for  athletic  games  and  out-of-door 
sports,  without  which  it  is  hard  to  keep  the  muscular  system  in  good 
condition. 

The  ancient  Greeks  carried  to  the  highest  perfection  the  cultiva 
tion  of  the  intellect  and  the  training  of  the  body.  Their  Olympic 
games,  their  athletic  exercises,  their  school  discipline,  their  military 
drill,  secured  the  highest  possible  degree  of  physical  perfection. 
Their  poets,  orators,  philosophers,  painters,  sculptors,  and  histo 
rians,  were  good  fighters.  Alcibiades,  the  sybarite,  the  fop,  the 
reveler,  could  live  on  black  broth,  and  rough  it  in  the  camp  with  the 
hardiest  of  the  common  soldiers. 

Socrates  was  a  soldier  as  well  as  a  philosopher,  and  would 
have  been  less  respected  had  he  wanted  the  attributes  common  to 
all  citizen  soldiers — strength,  courage,  and  endurance. 

When,  in  Greece,  a  luxurious  civilization  corrupted  the  tastes  of 
the  citizens,  and  reduced  them  to  effeminacy,  the  rude  barbarian 
claimed  the  land,  and  won  it. 

Their  severe  gymnastic  training,  it  is  true,  had  for  its  primary  ob- 


160  INSTITUTE  ADDKESSES. 

ject  the  perfection  of  military  discipline;  but  it  ateo  produced  clear 
heads,  strong  minds,  and  the  perfect  forms  which  still  live  in  marble. 

Its  influence  was  felt  in  literature,  to  which  it  gave  a  healthy  cast. 
It  gave  to  the  nation  its  immortal  sculptors  and  painters. 

It  is  in  the  power  of  the  public  schools  to  educate  the  nation  to  a 
more  healthful  taste  for  simple  amusements,  and  to  raise  the  stand-  » 
arc!  of  manly  strength  and  womanly  beauty. 

But  apart  from  this,  the  highest  degree  of  mental  culture  cannot 
be  attained  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  physical  life.  Childhood  is 
the  season  or  growth,  of  animal  development.  It  is  a  mistaken  no 
tion  that  children  are  born  into  the  world  for  the  purpose  of  going 
to  school  to  learn  to  read  and  write.  Playfulness  is,  with  them,  as 
much  an  instinct  as  with  kittens.  Even  in  the  long,  dark  winters  of 
the  arctic  zone,  where  nature  in  her  savage  forms  almost  freezes  out 
the  life  of  man,  Dr.  Kane  found  the  stunted  little  Esquimaux  boys 
playing  their  games  of  ball  on  the  snow-banks.  Let  the  children  in 
school  have  amusements  in  the  form  of  healthful,  rnuscular  exer 
cises.  It  is  absolutely  painful  to  think  how  most  of  our  primary 
schools  sin  against  the  laws  of  nature;  how  they  cramp  the  little 
bodies,  and  repress  childish  emotions  and  impulses. 

Education  is  the  harmonious  development  of  all  the  faculties  of 
the  human  mind,  and  the  training  of  the  human  body  to  its  great 
est  strength  and  highest  beauty.  Why,  then,  in  our  public  schools, 
should  not  pliysical  training  be  considered,  as  well  as  mental 
development? 

It  is  evident  to  all  who  are  in  the  least  familiar  with  the  daily 
routine  of  our  schools,  that  the  muscular  natures  of  the  children 
are  as  little  regarded  as  if  they  were  made  of  gutta  percha.  Now, 
I  do  not  suppose  that  many  children  are  killed  outright  by  the  high 
pressure  of  mental  training.  Occasionally  some  nervous  boy,  bril 
liant  and  ambitious,  his  vitality  all  running  to  brain  instead  of  body, 
drops  out  of  school  into  his  grave,  and  his  death  is  attributed  to 
Providence  instead  of  mathematics.  But  thousands  of  boys  leave 
school,  thin,  pale,  and  weak,  or  bungling,  clumsy,  and  awkward, 
when  they  might  as  well  have  left  it  strong,  active,  and  graceful. 

It  is  not  so  much  the  positive  harm  which  the  schools  inflict  of 
which  we  complain,  but  their  neglect  to  accomplish  positive  good. 
It  might  be  hard  to  prove,  in  court,  that  delicate  girls,  of  fine  nerv 
ous  organizations,  have  been  killed  outright  by  long  lessons,  over- 
stimulated  ambition,  late  study  hours,  and  mathematical  puzzles; 
yet  all  teachers  very  well  know  that  brain  fevers  have  taken  off  many 
promising  young  girls,  and  that  many  more  leave  school  with  diplo 
mas  and  ruined  constitutions.  All  the  girls  in  public  schools  have 
neither  crooked  spines,  round  shoulders,  sunken  chests,  nor  pale 
faces;  but  how  much  more  perfect  might  be  their  physical  develop 
ment,  did  their  health  receive  half  the  attention  devoted  to  music, 
drawing,  and  mathematics.  Can  any  mental  culture  be  of  greater 
importance  than  the  health  of  those  who  are  to  become  the  mothers 
of  the  next  generation  of  men  ?  Few  girls  who  are  educated  in  the 
public  schools  escape  the  universal  law  of  labor.  Most  of  them, 
when  they  enter  homes  of  their  own  at  an  early  age,  will  need 
strength  as  well  as  accomplishments.  Many  of  them  must  do  their 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  161 

own  housework,  in  addition  to  the  care  of  children;  and  is  the  ques 
tion  of  physical  strength  of  no  consequence  to  them  ?     Is  it  of  little  ^ 
consequence  to  the  laboring  man,  with  a  family  to  support,  whether 
his  wife  be  strong  or  feeble,  well  or  sick? 

The  strong  boys,  in  the  long  run,  come  out  ahead.  When  an  ox 
is  let  into  a  pasture  full  of  cattle,  there  is  a  trial  of  horns,  and  the 
strongest  takes  the  lead.  So  with  the  boys  of  a  public  school.  The 
strong,  the  energetic,  the  active,  are  the  real  kings  of  school,  whether 
they  are  at  the  head  or  foot  of  the  arithmetic  class.  Give  the  boy, 
then,  the  exercise  his  nature  craves,  and  which  will  make  him  a  live 
boy  and  a  manly  man.  If  he  leaves  school  with  a  fondness  for  ath-^ 
letic  amusements,  he  has  one  of  the  surest  safeguards  against  ex 
pensive  and  ruinous  dissipation. 

A  judicious  union  of  social,  mental,  and  physical  culture,  will 
make  our  public  schools  practically  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  peo 
ple.     If  parents,  through  ignorance,  neglect  the  proper  training  of*-" 
their  children,  let  the  public  school  take  charge  of  them.     Amuse 
ments  form  a  part  of  education,  and  much  excellent  gymnastic  and  c— 
calisthenic  training  maybe  connected  with  games,  or  made  delight 
ful  by  music. 

But  some  will  say,  leave  children  to  follow  their  own  inclination  *" 
in  pla}rs  and  sports;  it  is  not  natural  for  boys  to  climb  the  ropes  and 
ladders  of  a  gymnasium,  to  swing  clubs,  lift  weights,  and  revolve  on 
bars;  nor  is  it  desirable  that  young  ladies  use  wrands,  swing  dumb 
bells,  and  romp  in  the  play-ground.  Any  attempt  at  systematic  and 
repeated  drill  will  prove  irksome,  and  therefore  useless. 

Then  why  not  leave  the  mind  to  its  natural,  untrained  action  ?  - 
Why  submit  the  brain  to  regular  training?  Children's  brains  are  as 
active  as  their  bodies;  why  not  leave  both  alike  to  the  ill-regulated 
laws  of  impulse  and  feeling  ?  In  mental  culture  we  recognize  the 
great  law  of  nature,  that  no  perfection  is  attained  without  repeated 
and  systematic  effort.  Mental  gymnastics  of  the  severest  kind  are 
rigidly  practised  during  at  least  ten  years  of  early  life.  Strength, 
readiness,  and  quickness  are  the  result.  Leave  the  mind  to  its  own 
aimless  action,  and  its  strength  all  runs  to  waste. 

The  same  law  applies  to  the  muscular  system;  yet  we  leave  the' 
boy  in  school,  day  after  day,  year  after  year,  cramped  over  his  desk, 
his  muscles  weak  and  relaxed,  and  his  nervous  energy,  diverted  from 
his  growth,  to  be  poured  on  an  already  overworked  brain.     If  he 
have  unusual  stamina,  he  comes  out  in  tolerable  health,  but  clumsy   ' 
and  bungling;  if  of  a  nervous  temperament,  he  leaves  school  pre 
cociously  sharp  and  quick,  but  thin,  pale,  and  weak. 

Take  a  class  of  boys  and  subject  them,  from  the  age  of  six  years 
to  fifteen,  to  a  careful  and  judicious  daily  exercise  of  an  hour  in 
such  gymnastics  as  are  best  adapted  to  the  growing  body,  and  will 
not  their  physique  be  vastly  superior  to  that  of  a  class  left  to  run 
wild  in  the  yard?  And  would  not  such  an  additional  stock  of  ani 
mal  vigor  and  strength  stand  them  in  quite  as  good  stead  in  the 
world  as  their  limited  store  of  school-book  learning?  The  gradu 
ates  of  West  Point  can  be  singled  out  of  a  crowd  by  their  straight 
forms,  erect  walk,  general  quickness  of  movement,  and  superior 
physical  development.  On  a  small  scale,  why  cannot  the  elementary 


162     •  INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES. 

schools  reach  the  same  results  ?  Any  business  man  knows  that , 
sound  health  and  power  of  endurance  are  quite  as  necessary  to  suc 
cess  as  quickness  in  mathematics,  or  skill  in  the  use  of  language. 
What  merchant  would  not  rather  have  his  son  come  to  the  count 
ing-room  with  every  muscle  strung  to  its  highest  tension,  quick, 
active,  self-reliant,  strong,  and  proud  of  his  strength,  even  if  he 
knows  a  few  pages  less  of  a  few  books,  than  to  see  him  drag  home  a  thin 
face  and  attenuated  muscles?  Do  not  mechanics  and  laborers  think 
it  of  some  importance  that  their  sons,  who  will  take  their  places  and 
live  by  manual  labor,  shall  have  sinewy  frames,  as  well  as  intelligent 
minds?  By  far  the  greater  number  of  boys  who  attend  the  public 
schools  grow  up  working  men.  To  all  such,  power  of  endurance  is' 
the  most  practical  education.  The  arm  to  lift  a  fifty-pound  dumb 
bell  is  better  than  the  analysis  of  cube  root. 

A  sound  body  is  the  only  capital  they  have  to  start  with  in  life. 
Knowledge  may  oe  power,  but  muscular  strength  is  food  and  cloth 
ing.  Some  men  must  earn  their  living  by  muscular  labor,  as  well  as- 
others  by  their  wits.  Horace  Mann  said,  and  he  knew  the  truth  of 
it,  "All  through  the  life  of  a  pure-minded  but  feeble-bodied  man, 
his  path  is  lined  with  memory's  grave-stones,  which  mark  the  spots- 
where  noble  enterprises  perished  for  want  of  physical  vigor  to  em 
body  them  in  deeds. ' ' 

Sound  health  is  a  necessary  condition  of  all  permanent  success, 
and  the  greatest  drawback  to  our  public  school  system  is  the  neg 
lect  to  provide  for  this  necessity.  ^Better  illiterate  strength  than 
sickly  erudition.  It  is  true  that  sometimes  a  heroic  spirit  conquers 
pli3rsical  weakness,  but  such  cases  are  exceptions.  Dr.  Kane  braved 
the  terrors  of  the  arctic  regions,  and  endured  more  than  many  phys 
ical  giants,  but  died  in  Cuba.  Nature  had  her  revenge. 

Many  teachers  will  say,  that  is  all  very  fine  theoretically,  but  it  is 
utterly  impossible  to  carry  it  out  practically  in  the  school.  Yet,  it 
can  be  done,  has  been  done,  and  is  done  in  a  great  many  public 
schools. 

Connected  for  a  period  of  ten  years  with  a  public  school  of  five 
hundred  children,  during  five  years  of  that  time  gymnastic  and  cal- 
isthenic  training  was  made  a  part  of  daily  education,  just  as  much 
as  arithmetic,  or  geography,  or  grammar,  and  with  quite  as  satis 
factory  results.  Having  practiced  all  that  I  recommend,  I  am 
troubled  with  no  doubts  in  urging  the  practicability  of  physical  cul 
ture  in  the  public  schools.  True,  it  was  rather  hard  in  the  begin 
ning,  to  be  blamed  for  innovations,  laughed  at  by  conservatives,  and 
found  fault  with  by  parents.  But  persistence  and  patience  over 
came  all  obstacles.  Mothers  who  at  first  objected  to  letting  their 
boys  exercise  in  the  gymnasium,  for  fear  they  would  break  their 
necks  or  tear  their  clothes,  soon  grew  proud  of  the  strength  and 
agility  of  their  sons. 

Delicate  girls,  who  horrified  their  mammas  with  accounts  of  wands 
and  dumb-bells,  grew  to  like  both,  as  they  grew  stronger  under  daily 
drill.  Pale,  weakly,  good-for-nothing  boys,  who  at  first  only  moped 
around  the  yard  and  looked  at  the  other  boys,  soon  became  inter 
ested  and  took  hold  in  earnest,  until  the  narrow  chest  expanded, 
the  round  shoulders  straightened,  and  the  soft,  flabby  arm  became 
like  knotted  whip-cords. 


INSTITUTE  ADDRESSES.  163 

The  measurements  of  many  boys'  arms  showed  an  increase  of  cir-^ 
cumference  of  one  inch  in  three  months,  and  an  expansion  of  the 
chest  of  two  inches  in  the  same  time.  Some  of  my  most  pleasant 
memories  of  teaching  are  connected  with  my  gymnastic  classes  of  ath 
letic  boys,  who  could  kick  foot-ball,  play  base-ball,  lift  dumb-bells, 
swing  clubs,  climb  ladders,  vault  the  bar,  walk  the  parallel,  swing- 
on  the  rings,  foot  it  twenty  miles  on  Saturday  excursions,  and  box 
and  wrestle  with  their  teacher.  I  would  not  give  those  boys,  who 
have  since  grownup  to  be  rugged  men,  rejoicing  in  their  health  and 
strength,  for  all  the  arithmetical  prodigies  in  the  United  States.  As 
I  feel  the  hearty  grip  of  their  hands,  my  only  twinge  of  pain  is,  that 
when  I  went  to  school  my  teachers  did  not  have  a  higher  estimate  of 
muscle,  and  a  lower  one  of  books. 

One  of  those  "  big  boys"  of  my  class  has  been  several  years  the 
leading  gymnast  of  the  Olympic  Club  Gymnasium  of  the  young1 
men  of  this  city,  and  I  am  quite  as  proud  of  him  as  of  another  boy 
who  has  grown  to  be  a  scholar.     Another  strapping  fellow,  six  feet 
two,   straight  as  an  arrow,  and  strong  as  Hercules,  who  has  been  x , 
two  years  in  the  army,  fighting  Indians,  is  a  walking  illustration  of   j 
the  benefits  of  gymnastic  drill  in  a  public  school.     I  would  not  thus 
allude  to  my  own  experience,  except  that  any  reference  to  gymnas 
tics  is  met  by  many  teachers  with  one  argument,  condensed  in  a 
single  word — impracticable. 

How  shall  such  exercises  be  conducted  in  a  public  school?     The 
excellent  books  on  the  subject  render  it  unnecessary  to  go  into  de 
tail.     All  children  have  arms,  and  the  will  to  use  them.     With  or 
without  music,  any  teacher  in  any  school,  graded  or  ungraded,  can  x 
give  ten  minutes  a  day  for  free  arm  movements.     A  few  dollars  will  \ 
buy  a  set  of  wands,  and  some  wooden  dumb-bells;  and  the  girls  can    J 
make  two  dozen  "  bean  bags."     With  this  simple  apparatus  alone,  / 
any  teacher  with  an  ordinary  amount  of  ingenuity,  tact,  or  skill, 
can,  with  the  aid  of  a  book,  have  a  good  light  gymnastic  class. 

Half  an  hour  a  day  can  be  taken  out  of  the  school  hours,  and  the 
children  be  all  the  better  for  losing  so  much  study  time.  A  vast 
amount  of  training  can  be  given,  even  in  the  short  period  of  a  year. 
The  time  for  study  and  recitation  ought  to  be  reduced.  In  years  to 
come,  little  children  will  not  be  confined  in  school  more  than  three 
hours  a  day.  Years  ago,  the  good  old-time  clergymen  preached  ser 
mons  two  hours  long,  and  those  who  could  not  stand  them  patiently 
were  held  to  be  weak  in  the  faith.  Better  sermons  are  now  deliv 
ered  in  thirty  minutes,  with  quite  as  good  results.  So  it  will  be 
with  schools.  Better  teachers  than  we,  when  the  present  six-hour 
system  shall  have  become  obsolete,  will  teach  more  in  half  the  time. 
Not  length  of  time  in  study,  but  the  quality  of  thought,  and  the 
force  of  action,  is  the  measure  of  mental  progress. 

The  light  gymnastics  are  good  for  the  smaller  boys  and  girls;  but\ 
the  "big  boys"  will  generally  prefer  some  out-of-door  exercises.,/ 
The  movable  horizontal  bar  is  a  great  favorite  with  boys,  and  the 
exercises  on  it  are  among  the  best  of  the  gymnasium.     One  can  be 
set  in  any  school-yard  for  twenty  dollars.     A  few  iron  dumb  bells 
will  be  useful.     The  Indian  clubs  are   excellent  for  the  arms  and 
chest,  but  boys  do  not  generally  "  take  to  them."     The  swinging 


164  INSTITUTE   ADDRESSES. 

rings  cost  but  little,  and  are  liked  very  much.  Leaping  is  a  pleas 
ant  yard  amusement,  a.nd  requires  only  two  sticks  and  a  string. 
Football  is  a  rough  and  tumble  game;  but  it  has  the  charm  of  in 
tense  excitement,  and  the  more  {he  Iboyti  get  of  it  the  better. 
Bruised  ankles  and  sore  legs  are  forgotten  in  the  exultation  of  win 
ning.  Rugby  ought  not  to  monopolize  it.  Base  ball  is  a  fine  old 
game,  which  ought  alwa}Ts  to  be  kept  before  the  boys.  An  occa 
sional  Saturday  pedestrian  excursion  of  twenty  miles  is  a  fine  thing 
if  the  teacher  can  stand  it.  I  was  reminded  of  one  the  other  day 
by  a  strapping  fellow,  who  exclaimed:  "  It  made  my  legs  ache,  but 
how  nice  the  beefsteaks  were  that  we  broiled  on  sticks  over  the 
fire."  A  set  of  boxing  gloves  will  make  fine  fun  for  the  older  boys, 
and  yet  give  them  the  most  vigorous  kind  of  exercise.  "Do  you 
box  any  nowadays,"  was  one  of  the  first  salutations  of  one  of  my 
*t  boys,"  who  has  just  returned  from  the  army.  He  was  thinking 
of  the  half  hours  after  school  with  the  boxing  gloves,  in  the  old 
schoolhouse,  and  how,  with  the  aid  of  what  he  had  learned  there, 
he  whipped  the  eyes  out  of  a  big  "  bully"  at  the  W^est  Point  Mili 
tary  Academy.  Wrestling  used  to  be  a  favorite  amusement,  and 
what  New  England  boy  does  not  remember  many  a  hard  tussle  on 
the  green  sward  round  the  "  old  schoolhouse." 

Teachers  who  wish  to  succeed  in  physical  training  must  study  *- 
fvarietj^in  their  exercises.     Boys  are  fond  of  novelty  and  change, 
and  the  same  routine  day  after  day  will  soon  tire.     Marbles,  tops, 
kites,  and  ball  follow  after  one  another,  changing  quite  as  often  as 
the  moon.     It  requires  more  skill,  tact,  judgment,  and  knowledge 
of  boy  nature  to  succeed  with  a  gymnastic  class  than  to  teach  arith 
metic   or  grammar;  one  requires  a  soul  and  sympathy  with  boy  ' 
j  nature,  the  other  does  not.     An  owl  should  not  mingle  with  sing- 
1  ing  birds;  and  a  cold,  formal,  dignified,  melancholy  teacher  has  no 
I,' business  in  the  boys'  playground.     If  he  cannot  kick  a  foot-ball 
well,  the  boys  will  laugh  at  him. 

Ever}7"  teacher  needs  gj^mnastic  exercises  and  amusements.  No 
occupations  so  drains  the  nervous  power;  he  must  find  the  "  foun 
tain  of  3'outh"  in  the  sports  of  boyhood.  What  matters  it  if  exam 
inations  are  a  little  less  "  brilliant,"  children  less  precocious,  and 
"  school  phenomenons"  less  common?  The  object  of  school  is  to\ 
train  up  children  to  be  sensible  men  and  women,  and  to  form  tastes  i 
and  habits  which  shall  follow  them  through  life. 

-The  indirect  lessons  of  the  play-ground  are  often  more  valuable 
than  the  formal  teachings  of  the  class-room,  and  the  kind  words 
there  spoken  will  soften  the  necessary  severity  of  discipline  in  a 
public  school.  In  the  hours  of  play,  when  "  off  duty,"  the  teacher 
with  a  great  heart  can  win  the  souls  of  children  while  training  their 
bodies.  What  teacher  would  not  be  remembered  by  his  pupils  as 
a  sharer  of  their  sports,  a  sympathizer  with  their  boyish  amuse 
ments,  as  a  living  man  who  had  a  heart,  and  moulded  their  charac 
ter,  and  formed  their  tastes,  rather  than  as  a  mere  schoolmaster 
who  only  expounded  text-books! 

vv^*X  v-  UA^ 

i^A.A      fcvj3       VA^t-C        Vv4 


LIBRARY. 

^KSITY  OF   CALIFORNIA1. 

UNIVERSITY.  OF 


165 


III.    UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


IN  1866,  Hon.  Wm.  Holden  introduced  a  bill  to  organize  a 
State  Agricultural  School,  in  order  to  secure  the  150,000  acres 
of  land  granted  by  Congress  for  that  purpose.  The  bill  became 
a  law,  but  no  action  was  taken  under  it;  and  in  1868,  Hon.  John 
W.  ^Dwinelle  drafted  and  introduced  a  bill,  which  was  passed, 
providing  for  a  State  University  with  an  Agricultural  College. 

The  University  of  California  was  opened  in  Oakland,  in  the 
College  of  California  buildings,  Sept.  23,  1869,  with  an  attend 
ance  of  about  50  students. 

The  University  was  made  free,  and  opened  for  the  admission 
of  young  men  and  women. 

The  first  Board  of  Regents  was  composed  as  follows : 

EX-OFFICIO    KEGENTS. 

H.  H.  Haight Governor.. 

Wm.  Holden Lieutenant-Governor. 

O.  P.  Fitzgerald State  Supt.  Public  Instruction. 

C.  T.  Byland Speaker  of  the  Assembly. 

Chas.  F.  Heed President  State  Agricultural  Society. 

A.  S.  Hallidie ,  - President  Mechanics'  Institute. 

APPOINTED  BY  THE   GOVEENOE. 


Samuel  Merritt 2  years. 

B.  P.  Hammond 6  years. 

Horatio  Stebbins 10  years. 

Wm.  Watt 14  years. 


John  T.  Doyle 4  years. 

John  W.  Dwinelle 8  years. 

Lawrence  Archer 12  years. 

S.  B.  McKee.  .  ..16  years. 


ELECTED   BY   THE    BOABD. 


Isaac  Friedlander.  ...   2  years. 

J.  Mora  Moss 6  years. 

A.  J.  Moulder 10  years. 

F.  F.  Low 14  years. 


Edward  Tompkins 4  years. 

S.  F.  Butterworth 8  years. 

A.  J.  Bowie 12  years. 

John  B.  Felton 16  years. 


Andrew  J.  Moulder,  having  been  elected  Secretary,  resigned 
his  position  as  Regent. 

The  College  of  California,  incorporated  in  1855,  disincorpo 
rated,  and  conveyed  its  grounds  at  Berkeley,  5  miles  from  Oak 
land,  as  a  site  for  the  State  University. 

The  men  chiefly  instrumental  in  this  consolidation,  were 
Henry  Durant,  Gov.  F.  F.  Low,  and  Horatio  Stebbins. 


166  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

The  College  of  California  had  its  germ  in  a  private  school, 
established  in  Oakland  in  1853,  by  Henry  Durant. 

FACULTY    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY. 

On  the  30th  of  November,  1868,  the  Begents  elected  General 
Geo.  B.  McClellan,  President,  with  a  salary  of  $6000.  He  de 
clined,  and  Prof.  John  LeConte  was  made  "Acting  President." 

In  1869,  the  following  Professors  were  appointed: 
Joseph  LeConte.  ...Prof,  of  Geology,  Natural  History,  and  Botany. 

John  LeConte Prof,  of  Physics  and  Industrial  Mechanics. 

Martin  Kellogg Prof,  of  Ancient  Languages. 

R.  C.  Fisher Prof,  of  Chemistry,  Mining,  and  Metallurgy. 

W.  T.  Welcker Prof,  of  Mathematics. 

Frank  Soule,  Jr Ass't  Prof,  of  Mathematics. 

Paul  Pioda Prof,  of  Modern  Languages. 

Ezra  S.  Carr Prof,  of  Agriculture,  Agricultural  Chemistry,  and 

Horticulture. 

Wm.  Swinton Prof,  of  English  Language  and  Literature, 

History,  Rhetoric,  and  Logic. 

Henry  Durant  was  elected  President  in  1870.  In  1872,  he 
resigned,  and  D.  C.  Gilman  was  elected,  Sept.  1st.  President 
Gilman  resigned  in  March,  1875,  and  was  succeeded  by  Prof. 
John  LeConte,  as  "Acting  President."  In  June,  1876,  Prof. 
John  LeConte  was  elected  President. 

The  Legislature  of  1870  appropriated  $300,000  for  building 
purposes,  and  in  the  Autumn  of  1873,  the  buildings  being  com 
pleted,  the  University  was  removed  from  Oakland  to  the  perma 
nent  site  at  Berkeley. 

The  resignation  of  Prof.  Fisher  was  requested  by  the  Eegents 
in  '71,  and  the  chair  of  Chemistry  was  filled  by  Prof.  Eising. 
In  1874,  the  resignation  of  Prof.  Carr  was  requested  by  the 
Eegents.  He  demanded  an  investigation,  which  was  refused,  and 
his  chair  was  declared  vacant.  He  was  nominated  and  elected 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  in  1876. 

In  1874,  Prof.  Swinton  resigned  his  professorship  to  go  East, 
and  E.  E.  Sill  was  elected  to  his  place. 

During  the  same  fyear,  Fred.  G.  Hesse  was  elected  to  the 
Chair  of  Industrial  Mechanics;  John  D.  Hoffman,  Prof,  of  In 
dustrial  Drawing;  Wm.  Ashburner,  Prof,  of  Mining  Engineer 
ing;  E.  "W.  Hilgard,  Prof,  of  Agriculture;  George  F.  Becker, 
Instructor  in  Metallurgy. 

A.  J.  Moulder,  resigned,  and  E.  E.  C.  Stearns  was  elected 
Secretary. 


UNIVERSITY   OF    CALIFORNIA 

The  Kegents  and  the  Faculty,  1876,  are  as  follows: 


ft] 

^lt 

.1  ^  ^7 

^  V  /  <f 


EX-OFFICIO   REGENTS. 

"William  Irwin  .........  Governor,  ex-officio  President  of  the  Board. 

J.  A.  Johnson  .............................  Lieutenant-Governor. 

Hon.  G.  J.  Carpenter  ..................  Speaker  of  the  Assembly. 

'Hon.  Ezra  S.  Carr  .......  State  Superintendent  Public  Instruction. 

R.  S.  Carey,  Esq  ............  President  State  Agricultural  Society. 

A.  S.  Hallidie,  Esq.  .  .  .Pres.  Mechanics'  Institute  of  San  Francisco.-^ 

John  LeConte  .......................  President  of  the  University. 

APPOINTED   EEGENTS. 

Rev.  H.  Stebbins,  San  Francisco.  D.  O.  Mills  .......  .....  Millbrae.— 

Hon.  L.  Archer  .......  San  Jose.  William  Meek.  .  .  .San  Leandro. 

J.  West  Martin  ........  Oakland.-  Hon.  F.  M.  Pixley,  San  Francisco. 

Hon.  Samuel  B.  McKee,  Oakland.  Hon.W.  T.  Wallace,  San  Fran'co.- 

Hon.  J.  F.  Swift,  San  Francisco.  Hon.E.Casserly  .  .San  Francisco. 

Joseph  Winans.  .  .San  Francisco.  Hon.  J.  S.  Hager,  San  Francisco. 

J.  Mora  Moss  ........   Oakland.  A.  J.  Bowie  ......  San  Francisco. 

J.  M.  Hamilton  ........  Guenoc.  Hon.  John  B.  Felton.  .  .Oakland. 

ACADEMIC    SENATE. 

John  LeConte,  M.D.  .  .  .Pres.  and  Prof,  of  Physics  and  Mechanics. 

William  Ashburner  .............................  Prof,  of  Mining. 

Geo.  W.  Bunnell,  A.M.  .  .  .Prof,  of  Greek  Language  and  Literature. 

Geo.  Davidson,  A.M.  .Non-Resident  Prof.  Geodesy  and  Astronomy. 

Stephen  J.  Field,  LL.D  ..............  Non-Resident  Prof,  of  Law. 

Frederick  G.  Hesse  ...............  Prof,  of  Industrial  Mechanics." 

-*-E.  W.  Hilgard,  Ph.D  .  .Prof.  Agriculture  and  Agricultural  Chemistry.-- 

Martin  Kellogg,  A.M  .....  Dean,  and  Prof,  of  Ancient  Languages." 

Joseph  LeConte,  M.D  ......  Prof,  of  Geology  and  Natural  History." 

^Bernard  Moses,  Ph.D  ..........................  Prof,  of  History." 

Paul  Pioda  .........................  Prof,  of  Modern  Languages. 

^WillardB.  Risipg,  Ph.D  ......  Prof,  of  Chemistry  and  Metallurgy.— 

Edward  R.  Sill,  A.M.  .  .  .Prof,  of  English  Language  and  Literature. 
s  Frank  Soule,  Jr  .......  Prof,  of  Civil  Engineering  and  Astronomy.^ 

William  T.  Welcker  .......................  Prof,  of  Mathematics. 

W.  A.  Barbour,  A.B  ...................  .Instructor  in  Chemistry. 

Geo.  F.  Becker,  A.B.,  Ph.D  ..............  Lecturer  on  Metallurgy. 

Samuel  R.  Christy,  Ph.D  ................  Instructor  in  Chemistry.*. 

,^G.  C.  Edwards,  Ph.B.  .Inst'r  in  Mathematics,  and  Com.  of  Cadets.-* 

Carlos  F.  Gompertz  .......................  Instructor  in  Spanish. 

L.  L.  Hawkins,  Ph.B.  .  .  .Instructor  in  Mathematics  and  Surveying. 

John  D.  Hoffman  ..............  Instructor  in  Mechanical  Drawing. 

Henry  B.  Jones  ..................  Assistant  Instructor  in  German. 

G.  de  Kersaint-Gily  .......................  Instructor  in  French. 

Robert  E.  Ogilby  ...............  Instructor  in  Free-hand  Drawing. 

Edward  A.  Parker,  Ph.B  .....  Instructor  in  Physics  and  Mechanics. 

Jas.  M.  Phillips,  A.B.  ..Instructor  in  Hebrew  and  Ancient  History. 
—-Albin  Putzker  ............................  Instructor  in  German.- 

-^  Ambrose  C.  Richardson,  A.B  .......  Instructor  in  Latin  and  Greek. 

—-'Joseph  C.  Rowell,  A.B  ...............................  Librarian.- 

E.  H.  Sears,  A.B  ..................  Instructor  in  Latin  and  Greek. 

Slate,  Jr.,  S.B  .......................  Instructor  in  Chemistry.- 


168 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GEADUATE   ASSISTANTS. 


John  W.  Bice,  Ph.B  ....................  College  of  Engineering-. 

Isaac  T.  Hinton,  Ph.B  ............................  Mathematics. 

^Wm.  Carey  Jones,  A.B  .....................  Recorder  of  Faculty. 

Franklin  P.  McLean,  Ph.Gr  ...........................  Chemistry. 

vFrank  S.  Button,  Ph.B  ...................  College  of  Agriculture. 


STUDENT   ASSISTANTS. 


Fred.  L.  Button  ..................................  Mathematics. 

J".  B.  Clarke  ......................................  Mathematics. 

X.  Y.  Clark  .......................  Natural  History  and  Geology. 

NUMBER  OF  STUDENTS. 

The  number  of  students  from  1870  to  1876  is  as  follows:  40, 
78,  153,  185,  191,  234. 

ENDOWMENT. 

The  150,000  acres  of  land  granted  by  Congress  for  the  slip- 
port  of  an  Agricultural  College  have  been  sold,  or  applied  for, 
at  an  average  price  of  $5  per  acre.  If  paid  up,  there  would 
be  a  fund  of  $750,000,  which,  at  six  per  cent.,  would  yield  an 
annual  revenue  of  $45,000.  But  in  selling  these  lands,  only  20 
per  cent.,  or  $1  an  acre,  is  required  in  cash,  the  remainder 
draws  interest  at  the  rate  of  ten  per  cent.  ;  so  that  the  income 
ought  to  exceed  $50,000,  or  even  $60,000. 

In  addition  to  this  endowment,  the  State  has  given  from  the 
sale  of  tide  lands  an  endowment  fund  sufficient  to  yield  an 
annual  income  of  $50,000—  about  $800,000,  invested  in  State 
bonds.  The  endowment  fund  of  the  University  may  be  set 
down,  in  round  numbers,  at  $1,500,000,  and  its  annual  income 
at  $128,000. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY   OF 


* 


CALIFORNIA 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 


UNIVERSITY   ( 

CAL1FORT 


IV.    STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 


Under  the  appropriation  of  $3,000,  by  the  Legislature  of 
1861-2,  Ahira  Holmes  was  appointed  as  Principal  by  a  Board 
of  Trustees,  consisting  of  Superintendent  Moulder,  George 
Tait,  Superintendent  of  San  Francisco,  and  Dr.  Taylor,  Super 
intendent  of  Sacramento. 

The  school  was  opened  in  one  of  the  vacant  rooms  of  the 
San  Francisco  High  School,  July  21st,  1862,  with  34  pupils, 
during  the  first  term.  The  school  was  soon  removed  to  rented 
rooms  on  Post  Street.  Henry  P.  Carlton  was  elected  Yice- 
Principal,  and  Miss  Helen  M.  Clark  and  Miss  Kate  Sullivan 
teachers  in  the  Training  School. 

The  first  graduating  class,  December,  1863,  consisted  of 
Bertha  Comstock,  Augusta  P.  Fink,  Nellie  Hart,  and  Louisa 
Mails. 

In  July,  1864,  Miss  E.  W.  Houghton  was  elected  as  an  Assist 
ant,  and  in  July,  1865,  George  W.  Minns  succeeded  Ahira 
Holmes  as  Principal.  The  school  was  removed  to  the  rear  of 
the  Lincoln  Grammar  School,  and  Mrs.  C.  H.  Stout  was  ap 
pointed  Principal  of  the  Training  School. 

The  number  of  pupils,  October,  1865,  was  86.  The  School 
Law  of  1865-5  made  the  State  Board  of  Education  ex  officio  a 
Board  of  Normal  School  Trustees. 

At  the  first  meeting,  April  13,  1866,  Professor  Minns  was 
granted  a  year's  leave  of  absence,  and  H.  P.  Carlton  elected 
Acting  Principal.  In  1867,  Mr.  Minns,  concluding  not  to  re 
turn  from  the  East,  resigned.  Mr.  Carlton  continued  Principal 
until  July,  1867,  when  George  Tait  was  elected  Principal.  Mr. 
Tait  resigned  in  1868,  and  was  succeeded  by  W.  T.  Luckey. 

Under  the  Act  of  April  4,  1870,  Gov.  Haight  appointed  a 
Board  of  Trustees,  consisting  of  James  Denman,  J.  H.  Braly, 
C.  T.  Eyland,  H.  O.  Weller,  and  A.  J.  Moulder,  the  Governor 
and  State  Superintendent  being  ex  officio  members. 

11 


170  STATE  BOARDS  OF  EDUCATION. 

This  Board  proceeded  to  erect  a  building  at  San  Jose,  com 
pleted  in  1872,  at  a  cost  of  $250,000. 

In  June,  1873,  Charles  H.  Allen  was  elected  Principal,  vice 
W.  T.  Luckey,  and  J.  H.  Braly,  Yice-Principal,  vice  H.  P. 
Carlton. 

At  present,  the  school  is  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity — 350 
students — and  is,  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name,  a  Normal  School. 

The  Board  of  Instruction,  June,  1876,  is  as  follows: 

Charles  H.  Allen Principal 

J.  H.  Braly Vice-Principal.- 

Henry  B.  Norton Natural  Science. 

Ira  Moore Language. 

Miss  Eliza  W.  Houghton Preceptress. 

Mrs.  Lucy  M.  Washburn Assistant  in  Junior  Class. 

Miss  Cornelia  Walker Assistant  in  Junior  Class. 

Miss  Annie  E.  Chamberlain Assistant  in  Junior  Class. 

MissPhebe  P-Grigsby.  •  j. Preparatory  Department. 

Miss  Helen  C.  Wright  .  .  j 

Miss  Mary  J.  Titus Principal  of  Training  School. 

Miss  Florence  Grigsby Assistant  in  Training  School. 

NUMBER  OF  GRADUATES  OF  THE  STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 
Year.  No. 

'63 4 

'64 28 

'65 ° 25 

'66 22 

'67 41 

'68 38 

'69..  29 


Year.  No. 

'70 45 

'71 21 

'72 17 

'73 20 

'74 33 

'75 46 

'76..  ..36 


Whole  number 414. 


V.  STATE  BOARDS  OF  EDUCATION. 


By  the  School  Law  of  1852,  the  State  Board  of  Education 
was  made  to  consist  of  the  Governor,  State  Superintendent,  and 
the  Surveyor-General.  The  Surveyor-General  was  included 
because  the  law  originally  proposed  to  entrust  the  Board  with 
the  sales  of  school  lands.  This,  however,  was  not  done;  and 
the  State  Board  remained,  up  to  1864,  without  powers  or  duties, 


BOABDS  OF  EXAMINATION.  171 

except  *to  apportion,  annually,  the  State  school  moneys.     In 

1864,  the  State  Board  was  made  to  consist  of  the  Governor,  the 
State  Superintendent,  and  the  County  Superintendents  of  San 
Francisco,  Sacramento,  and  San  Joaquin.     The  Board  was  em 
powered  to  adopt  a  uniform  series  of  text-books,  for  all  schools 
except  in  incorporated  cities;  to  require  a  uniform  course  of 
study,  and  to  make  rules  and  regulations  for  the  schools.     In 

1865,  the  Board  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  the  Principal 
of  the  State  Normal  School,  and  of  two  members  appointed  by 
the  State  Superintendent.     In  1872,  the  two  appointive  mem 
bers  were  cut  off.    In  1864,  the  State  Board  was  made,  ex  officio, 
the  Board  of  Normal  School  Trustees;  repealed,  1870. 


VI.   TEACHERS'  CERTIFICATES  AND  BOARDS  OF 
EXAMINATION. 


From  1850  to  1860,  the  power  of  examining  teachers  for  cer 
tificates  was  vested  in  District  School  Trustees  and  City  Boards 
of  Education.  These  Boards  were  authorized  to  grant  certifi 
cates  "  of  good  moral  character  and  fitness  to  teach  a  common 
school  one  year." 

In  1860,  Superintendent  Moulder  secured  the  passage  of  a 
law  providing  for  a  State  Board  of  Examination,  appointed  by 
the  State  Superintendent,  with  power  to  grant  certificates,  valid 
for  two  years,  and  for  County  Boards,  appointed  by  County 
Superintendents,  with  power  to  issue  county  certificates,  valid 
for  one  year. 

The  power  of  examining  teachers  was  still  vested  in  City 
Boards  of  Education,  which  were  not  required  to  recognize 
State  certificates. 

At  the  State  Institute,  Sacramento,  1862,  the  first  State  ex 
amination  was  held  by  Superintendent  Moulder  and  a  Board 
made  up  of  County  Superintendents.  The  examination  was 
somewhat  informal,  and  mostly  oral.  The  Board  granted  five 
Grammar  School  certificates  and  twelve  "  Mixed  School"  certifi 
cates. 


172  BOARDS  OF  EXAMINATION. 

From  1851  to  1863,  teachers  in  San  Francisco  were  examined 
every  year.  At  first,  these  examinations  were  oral;  but,  in 
1856,  the  Board  introduced  written  examinations. 

Concerning  this  annual  re-examination  of  experienced  teachers,. 
Superintendent  Swett,  in  his  first  Report,  said : 

No  one  cause  has  done  so  much  to  render  the  occupation  of  a 
public  school  teacher  distasteful  as  the  old  system  of  annual  ex 
aminations.  Teachers  were  condemned  to  be  tried,  not  by  a  jury 
of  their  peers,  but  too  often  by  men  who  knew  little  or  nothing  of 
practical  teaching,  and  who  not  unfrequently  made  the  annual  ex 
amination  a  guillotine  for  decapitating  any  unlucky  pedagogue  who 
had  fallen  under  ban  of  their  petty  displeasure.  A  teacher  in 
the  public  schools,  though  he  might  have,  added  to  the  finest 
natural  abilities  for  teaching,  a  complete  professional  training  in 
the  best  normal  schools  in  the  "United  States;  though  he  might  be 
crowned  with  honors,  won  by  many  years  of  successful  experience; 
though  he  might  be  esteemed  by  the  community,  and  revered  by 
thousands  of  grateful  pupils — at  the  end  of  each  year,  forsooth,  he 
must  be  "  examined"  by  a  committee  of  lawyers,  doctors,  dentists, 
book-binders,  contractors,  and  non-professional  men,  to  ascertain  if 
he  were  "fit  to  teach  a  Common  School!"  After  having  passed 
through  the  examination  mill  annually,  nine  years  in  succession, 
turned  out  each  time  with  a  "  bran  new"  certificate  of  "  fitness  to 
teach  a  Common  School  one  year,"  I  can  speak  feelingly  on  this 
subject.  These  annual  examinations  of  experienced  teachers  offered 
an  annual  insult  to  intelligence,  by  lumping  character,  aptness  to 
teach,  moral  and  social  culture,  in  tabular  statements  of  "  percent 
age"  on  arithmetic  and  spelling,  in  which  infinitesimal  details 
'i  counted  everything,  character  and  success  nothing  at  all.  Actual 
trial  in  the  school-room  is  the  best  test  of  fitness  to  teach;  and 
when  a  teacher  has  once  passed  examination,  and  proved  success 
ful  in  school,  subsequent  examinations  are  uncalled  for  and  un 
necessary. 

I  remember  more  than  one  successful  teacher,  arraigned  before 
the  Examination  Star  Chamber,  who  was  decapitated  by  the  official 
guillotine  of  "percentage/'  because  he  happened  to  fail  "  on  the 
best  route  from  Novogorod  to  Kilimandijaro,"  or  from  "  lied  Dog 
to  You  Bet;"  or  forgot  the  population  of  Brandy  Gulch,  Humbug^ 
Canon,  or  Pompeii;  or  could  not  remember  the  names  of  all  the 
rivers  of  the  world,  from  the  Amazon  down  to  the  brook  where  he 
caught  "  minnows"  with  pin  hooks  when  a  boy;  or  blundered  on 
some  arithmetical  shell,  hard  enough  to  pierce  the  hide  of  a  moni 
tor;  or  chanced  to  spell  traveler  with  two  1's;  or  happened,  firmlty,. 
to  fall  one  tenth  of  one  credit  below  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine, 
the  standard  which  exactly  gauged  the  moral  character  and  intel 
lectual  ability  of  a  man  •"  fit  to  teach  a  Common  School  one  year." 
The  new  State  law,  by  granting  diplomas  for  six  years,  relieves- 
teachers  from  the  annoyance  of  such  examinations,  and  is  the  first 
step  towards  recognizing  teaching  as  a  profession.  It  was  my  firm 


BOARDS  OF  EXAMINATION.  173 

Conviction  from  the  first,  that  the  end  sought  would  be  best  attained 
by  vesting  the  authority  to  examine  candidates  in  a  board  of  prac 
tical  teachers,  selected  for  that  specific  purpose.  The  future  suc 
cess  of  this  important  movement  will  depend  upon  retaining  this 
principle  as  a  foundation.  Teachers  have  a  right  to  demand  an  ex 
amination  by  their  peers. 

In  the  State  Institute  circular,  1863,  the  subject  of  teachers' 
certificates  was  noticed  as  follows : 

The  State  Board  of  Examiners  will  hold  an  examination  of  all  ap 
plicants  who  desire  to  obtain  State  certificates  during  the  Institute 
Session.  By  an  amendment  to  the  school  law,  these  certificates  re 
main  in  force  during  the  term  of  four  years — relieving  the  holders 
from  all  further  examination  by  County  Boards.  It  would  be  diffi 
cult  to  adduce  any  reason  whatever  for  the  annual  examination  of 
teachers,  except  the  natural  desire  which  some  seern  to  entertain  for 
tormenting  unlucky  applicants  for  district  schools.  There  are  many 
able  teachers  in  the  State  whose  pride  revolts  at  the  humiliation. 
Under  the  old  law,  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools,  though  he  might 
have  added  to  the  finest  natural  abilities  for  teaching,  a  complete 
professional  training  in  the  best  Normal  schools  in  the  "United  States 
— though  he  might  have  grown  gray  in  the  service,  might  be  crowned 
with  the  well-earned  honors  of  many  successful  schools,  be  revered 
by  thousands  of  grateful  pupils — though  he  had  graduated  from  a 
university — yet  he  could  not  apply  for  the  smallest  district  school  in 
the  remotest  corner  of  the  State,  without  "passing  an  examination;" 
-and,  if  he  wished  to  teach  another  year,  he  had  to  travel  twentv  or 
thirty  miles  to  pass  examination,  to  satisfy  the  State  that  he  was  "fit 
to  keep  a  common  school!"  And  further,  if  he  wished  to  remove  to 
another  county,  he  must  be  examined  by  another  Board,  to  ascertain 
his  fitness  to  teach  a  common  school!  If  examination  imparts  fitness 
to  teach,  some  of  the  teachers  in  this  -State  ought  to  be  well  fitted 
for  their  occupation. 

In  1862-3,  Superintendent  Swett  secured  important  amend 
ments  to  the  law  relating  to  certificates  and  examining  boards; 
and  in  1865-6,  the  Revised  School  Law  made  elaborate  provisions 
for  the  whole  subject. 

This  law  authorized  the  State  Board  of  Education  to  issue 
State  Life  Diplomas  to  teachers  of  at  least  10  years'  experience, 
holders  of  State  Educational  Diplomas;  provided  for  City 
Boards  of  Examination,  consisting  exclusively  of  professional 
teachers;  required  City  Boards  of  Education  to  recognize  the 
validity  of  State  certificates;  required  the  percentages  obtained 
in  the  different  studies  to  be  indorsed  on  the  back  of  the  cer 
tificate;  required  the  State  Board  to  issue  certificates  to  the 
holders  of  State  Normal  School  diplomas,  and  of  State  life  cer- 


174  BOARDS  OF  EXAMINATION. 

tificates  of  all  other  States  in  the  United  States;  provided  for 
granting  State  certificates  on.  the  results  of  county  examinations 
with  the  State  series  of  questions — in  other  words,  made  teach 
ing  a  legal  profession. 

These  provisions,  with  slight  amendments,  are  retained  in  the 
present  school  law. 

On  this  subject,  Mr.  Swett  spoke  as  follows,  before  the 
National  Educational  Association,  at  Boston,  August  6-8,  1872 : 

By  way  of  introducing  my  subject,  and  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
why  I  entertain  radical  views  on  the  common  methods  of  examining 
teachers,  and  of  granting  them  certificates,  I  am  constrained  to  offer 
my  own  experience  as  an  illustration. 

Twenty  years  ago  this  very  month,  moved  by  the  migratory  instinct 
that  seems  to  be  hereditary  in  so  many  Yankee  boys,  impelling  them 
to  take  flight  in  search  of  warmer  climes  and  richer  feeding-grounds, 
I  sailed  out  of  Boston  harbor  bound  for  California,  "round  the 
Horn." 

My  pocket-book  was  not  plethoric  with  money,  but  carefully 
stowed  away  in  its  ample  folds  there  were  three  certificates,  every  one 
of  which  bore  the  most  positive  evidence  as  to  my  good  moral  char 
acter,  and  certified  to  my  "ability  and  fitness  to  teach  a  common 
school  for  the  term  of  one  year."  One  of  these,  like  its  holder,  had 
its  birth  in  the  Old  Granite  State. 

It  bore  the  signature  of  a  "  Deesfrict  School  Trustee,"  dear  old 
Deacon  Brown,  who  examined  me  in  the  vowel  sounds,  and  the  conso 
nant  sounds;  asked  me  to  pronounce  correctly  g-e-w-g-a-w ,  and,  by 
way  of  a  clincher,  required  me  to  define  the  four  parts  of  English 
Grammar  according  to  Lindley  Murray,  to  wit:  Orthography,  Ety 
mology,  Syntax,  and  Prosody. 

The  other  two  certificates  were  dated  in  the  town  of  Timbuctoo,  in 
the  old  Bay  State,  almost  in  the  shadow  of  Bunker  Hill.  I*was  ex 
amined  in  the  dingy  office  of  a  cobwebbed  old  lawyer,  who  was  quite 
as  scientific  in  his  style  of  doing  things,  as  was  dear  old  Deacon 
Brown. 

It  is  enough  to  say  that  every  one  of  these  examinations  was  as 
great  a  farce  as  it  would  be  for  Vincent  Collier  to  examine  an  Apache 
Indian  in  mental  and  moral  philosophy  and  theology,  or  rather,  as 
absurd  as  it  would  be  for  a  green-grocer  to  examine  John  Stuart  Mill 
in  political  economy. 

I  would  not  rake  up  old  events  that  happened  so  near  the  cradle  of 
the  common-school  system,  except  that  on  returning,  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  later,  I  find  that  good  old  wray  of  examining 
teachers  still  going  on  in  my  native  State,  and  in  some  other  States 
that  I  do  not  now  care  to  mention. 

When  I  reached  California,  I  mined,  until  I  found  myself  dead- 
broke  ;  worked  as  a  day-laborer  on  a  ranch ;  sought  in  vain  for  per 
manent  employment,  save  only  the  profession  of  blacking  boots;; 


BOAEDS  OF   EXAMINATION.  175 

and,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  looked  sadly  at  my  certificates,  and,  as 
a  last  desperate  resort,  "  looked  round"  for  a  school. 

I  heard  of  a  school,  but  my  old  certificates  were  not  current  in 
California;  and  the  flattering  letters  of  Prof.  Eussell,  who  taught 
me  how  to  teach,  availed  me  nothing.  I  had  to  be  "examined" 
before  I  could  be  patented  to  be  "  fit  to  teach  a  common  school  in 
the  State  of  California,  for  one  year,"  and  a  miserable  little  school 
of  half-Spanish  children  at  that. 

The  school  trustee,  a  Yankee  minister,  a  man  of  huge  body  and 

,  enormous  pomposity,  did  his  duty  with  an  awful  dignity,   which 

j  1  nobody  but  a  little-minded  man,  in  a  petty  little  office,  can  ever  aspire 

I  to.    It  was  the  same  old  rigmarole  of  4<  reading  'ritin'  and  'rithentic/' 

with  never  a  question  to  test  education,  culture,  or  power  to  teach. 

After  a  half-day's  examination,  he  gave  me  a  certificate,  and  the 
school  to  somebody  else. 

Then  I  went  to  San  Francisco.  There  was  a  vacancy  in  the  school 
department.  The  old  examination-mill  was  still  kept  running  under 
Yankee  management.  Fifteen  of  us,  all  in  a  row,  like  good  little 
boys  in  school,  were  questioned  "  once  round  "  in  arithmetic,  "  once 
round  "  in  grammar,  "  once  round"  in  geography,  "  once  round" 
in  spelling,  by  the  Superintendent  and  the  Mayor — the  former  a  Ver 
mont  Yankee,  and  the  latter  like  unto  him,  except  he  hailed  from  a  \ 
city  nigh  unto  Boston,  where  they  gibbeted  witches  instead  of 
teachers. 

I  was  told  I  ranked  first  of  the  batch;  and  of  course  somebody 
else,  who  had  "influence  with  the  board,"  got  the  place.  The  suc 
cessful  somebody  this  time  was  a  young  doctor  without  patients. 
He  soon  resigned,  and  I  was  allowed  the  privilege,  at  $125  a  month, 
of  conquering  a  peace  by  subduing  the  young  hoodlums,  or  of  meet 
ing  the  fate  of  my  predecessor. 

This  was  how  I  became  a  schoolmaster,  and  how  I  won  my  way 
into  the  noblest  profession — I  think  that  is  what  they  call  it  some 
times  in  educational  conventions. 

For  eight  successive  years  I  taught  the  same  school,  and — I  am 
am  ashamed  to  own  it,  and  would  not  tell  it  were  it  not  necessary  to 
illustrate  what  I  intend  to  present — I  had  the  cowardice,  like  other 
teachers  with  me,  to  submit  to  eight  annual  examinations,  in  order 
to  determine  my  fitness,  at  each  annual  revolution  of  the  sun,  to 
teach  the  same  school  each  succeeding  school  year. 

Nor  was  this  the  end  of  humiliation  and  insult.  After  getting  a 
"  bran  new  "  certificate  at  the  end  of  each  year,  before  I  could  go 
on  again,  I  had  to  be  elected  by  the  votes  of  twelve  members  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  because  my  term  of  office  lasted  on];'  one  year. 
This  annual  election  system  was  handed  down  to  us  from  the  primi 
tive  New  England  "  town  meetings."  I  believe  that  here  in  Boston, 
and  in  all  New  England  cities  and  villages,  and,  in  fact,  in  most; 
parts  of  the  United  States,  it  is  still  kept  up.  A  teacher  holds  the 
office  only  one  year,  and  then  he  is  at  the  mercy  of  any  school  di 
rector,  or  local  member  of  the  board,  who  may  have  some  spite  to 
wreak,  or  some  relative  to  put  in.  Much  as  I  honor  the  occupation 
of  teaching,  I  am  not  in  love  with  a  system  that  tends  to  take  all 
the  manliness  out  of  a  man,  and  all  the  independence  from  a  woman.  , 


176  BOARDS   OF   EXAMINATION. 

Under  such  a  barbarous  system 'of  office-holding,  rather  than  have 
a  son  of  mine  become  a  common-school  teacher,  I  would  apprentice 
him  to  the  trade  of  a  tanner,  a  tailor,  or  a  shoemaker.  He  might 
then  stand  some  possible  chance  of  rising  in  the  political  world. 
For  myself,  rather  than  teach  under  it,  I  would  contest  with  Nasby 
the  postmastership  of  the  Confederate  Cross-Roads. 

At  length,  dragged  out  of  my  bed,  after  a  typhoid  fever  that 
brought  me  to  the  verge  of  the  grave — a  sickness  brought  on  by 
over-work,  worry  and  anxiety — in  order  to  be  run  through  the  examin 
ation-mill  a  ninth  time,  the  hereditary  blood  of  my  grandfather,  who 
"fit"  in  the  Revolution,  rose  up  in  rebellion.  I  vowed  to  breakup 
and  root  out  the  annual-examination  farce,  and  the  New-England- 
town-meeting-annual-election  humbug,  both  of  which  had  followed 
me  across  the  continent,  like  the  ghost  of  some  grim  old  Puritan, 
sticking  closer  than  the  accent  of  Yankee-land  in  our  mother  tongue. 

So  I  left  the  school-room,  went  into  political  conventions,  secured 
a  nomination  for  the  only  office  ever  open  to  a  schoolmaster,  that  of 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  stumped  the  State,  won 
two  successive  elections,  and  the  third  time,  with  my  whole  party, 
won  a  defeat;  framed  a  school-law;  established  free  schools;  lobbied 
legislatures;  secured  a  legal  recognition  of  professional  teachers; 
abolished  the  New  England  annual-examination  farce;  and,  in  San 
Francisco,  broke  up  the  annual  rotation-in-office  election  system; 
placed  the  examination  of  teachers  throughout  the  State  exclusively 
in  the  hands  of  experienced  teachers,  thereby  ruining  the  occupa 
tion  and  the  glory  of  many  a  learned  committee-man;  secured  life 
diplomas  for  experienced  and  capable  teachers;  gained  a  legal  recog 
nition  of  the  normal  school  diplomas  of  all  State  normal  schools  in 
the  United  States;  and,  by  law,  made  valid  in  California  the  life 
diplomas  and  State  certificates  granted  to  teachers  by  other  States. 

All  these  reforms  cost  me  }rears  of  hard  wrork  and  determined 
effort,  and  you  will  understand  why  I  entertain  strong  convictions 
on  the  subject  of  teachers'  certificates. 

For  nearly  twenty  years,  on  the  western  verge  of  the  continent,  I 
have  been  engaged  in  a  kind  of  border  warfare  in  education.  My 
educational  notions  have  changed  since;  I  taught  school  near 
Boston.  Living  in  a  State  whose  people  have  been  gleaned  from 
every  other  State  in  the  Union,  from  France,  Germany,  Italy,  Eng 
land,  Ireland,  Australia,  and  China,  new  conditions  have  made  new 
questions  to  be  decided,  and  new  issues  to  be  met. 

While  I  fully  recognize  all  that  is  good  in  New  England  schools, 
school  laws,  school  customs  and  usages,  I  take  satisfaction  for  past  ! 
suffering,  in  hurling  a  few  brick-bats  into  the  windows  of  the  old 
school-house  where  I  was  flogged. 

Before  touching  on  the  subject  of  professional  certificates,  the 
two  weak  points  of  our  public  school  system  must  be  taken  into 
account. 

1.  Of  the  .three  hundred  thousand  persons  that  "  keep  school  " 
in  our  country,  not  more  than  one  tenth  can  be  regarded  as  profes 
sional  teachers,  that  is,  teachers  trained  to  their  business,  and  intend- 


BOARDS   OF   EXAMINATION.  177 

ing  to  pursue  it  for  a  term  of  years.  From  the  various  normal 
schools  altogether,  there  are  graduated,  annually,  not  more  than  two 
thousand  at  a  very  liberal  estimate,  and  of  these  at  least  one  half 
drop  out  of  the  occupation  in  five  years. 

Most  of  our  schools  outside  of  our  large  cities,  and  many  of  the 
lower  classes  toithin  our  cities,  are  "  kept,"  not  taught,  by  unskilled 
and  untrained  labor,  at  the  wages  of  unskilled  labor.  The  pay  of 
these  unskilled  "school-keepers"  is  less  than  that  of  any  class  of 
artisans  or  mechanics  in  any  occupation  that  requires  a  trained 
apprenticeship. 

These  "  school-keepers"  are  quite  as  good  as  the  people  deserve, 
and  in  most  cases  better  than  they  ought  to  get  for  the  wages  paid. 
Until  the  people  recognize  the  necessity  of  schools  all  the  year 
round,  until  they  recognize  that  teaching  is  an  art,  until  theyfcare  will 
ing  to  pay  for  skilled  training,  instead  of  mere  '*'  school-keeping," 
the  broken  summer  and  winter  schools,  kept  by  young  girls  waiting 
to  get  married,  and  by  boys  working  their  way  through  college,  or 
into  other  occupations  and  professions,  or  by  migratory  Ichabod 
Cranes,  must  serve  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  children  out  of  utter 
barbarism,  by  giving  them  a  chance  to  learn  to  read  and  write,  and 
reckon  dollars  and  cents. 

The  abstract  theory  of  our  school  system  is  fine  enough,  but  the 
census  statistics  loom  up  in  fearful  significance  as  a  dark  back 
ground.  We  shall  learn  before  long  that  mere  reading  and  writing 
do  not  constitute  education,  and  that  schoolmasters  and  school- 
ma'ams  are  not  necessarily  teachers. 

It  is  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  I  went  to  school  in  my  native  vil 
lage.  I  return  and  find  the  school  there  is  no  better  than  when  I 
was  a  school-boy.  That  village  school  is  a  fair  type  of  many  schools 
all  over  our  country.  It  will  not  do  to  pick  out  a  few  cities,  and 
shut  our  eyes  to  the  rural  districts. 

When  I  went  to  school,  we  boys  had  neither  training  nor  culture. 
We  learned  to  read  and  write  and  cipher,  and  memorized  text-books, 
but  wre  were  not  educated;  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  boys  and 
girls,  all  over  our  country,  are  doing  the  same  thing  at  the  present 
time. 

It  matters  but  little  how  the  temporary  keepers  of  schools  of  this 
type  are  examined.  Still,  there  ought  to  be  a  plan  devised  by  which 
the  untutored,  untrained  and  unskilled  "  school-keeper''  shall  not 
be  placed  on  the  same  footing  and  paid  the  same  wages  as  the  accom 
plished  graduate  of  a  normal  school,  or  the  self-made  teacher, 
trained  in  actual  work  in  the  school-room. 

Schools  of  this  class  were  well  enough  in  the  ruder  years  of  the 
republic,  when  men  and  women  were  subduing  the  wilderness, 
driving  out  the  savages,  and  laying  the  rough  foundations  of  a  great 
nation.  But  the  time  is  now  rapidly  coming  when,  in  consequence 
of  a  denser  population,  the  struggle  for  existence  will  become  fiercer, 
when  there  will  no  longer  be  millions  of  acres  of  fertile  land  to  be 
taken  up  at  nominal  prices,  and  made  productive  by  unskilled  labor. 
The  time  is  coming  when  our  artisans  and  mechanics  must  be  trained 


178  BOARDS   OF   EXAMINATION. 

to  compete  with,  those  from  the  technical  and  industrial  schools  of 
European  countries. 

Our  schools  in  the  small  villages  and  farming  districts  must  be 
reorganized  to  meet  this  new  order  of  things,  and  the  people  must 
employ  skilled  teachers,  and  pay  them  the  wages  of  skilled  labor. 

2.  The  other  radical  defect  in  the  practical  working  of  our  school 
system  is  the  short  terms  of  school  officers  and  superintendents,  and 
their  election  by  direct  vote  of  the  people  in  general  elections. 

Annual  elections  suited  the  genius  of  New  England  towns  when 
the  government  was  the  purest  t}7pe  of  a  democracy,  and  when  the 
machinery  of  great  political  parties  was  unknown;  but,  applied  to 
great  cities,  to  States,  and  to  the  broader  expanse  of  the  West,  the 
short  term  of  office  and  the  annual  election  have  been  ruinous  in 
their  results,  not  only  in  educational  offices,  but  in  all  others. 

There  can  be  no  steady  progress  in  public  schools  without  long- 
continued,  systematic  efforts;  and  there  can  be  no  system  when  one 
set  of  school  officials  succeeds  another  as  often  as  the  seasons 
change.  By  the  time  one  set  of  school  officers  has  learned  some 
thing  about  the  condition  and  wants  of  the  schools,  by  some  change 
in  the  politics  of  the  city  or  town,  a  new  set  succeeds,  bent  on  reform 
ing  the  work  of  their  predecessors. 

In  many  parts  of  our  country,  already,  school  boards  elected  by 
one  political  party  feel  under  no  obligation  to  retain  in  place  the 
teachers  appointed  by  the  opposite  party,  and  the  outrageous  annual- 
election  farce,  which  cowardly  teachers  have  so  long  submitted  to 
without  a  struggle,  affords  a  fine  opportunity  to  drop  out  the  old 
ones  and  run  in  the  new. 

Gradually,  but  surely,  the  schools  are  coming  to  be  considered  as 
legitimate  party  spoils  of  the  victors,  and  the  struggle  for  position 
on  boards  of  education  in  all  our  great  cities  is  mainly  to  control 
the  patronage  of  appointments.  There  has  been  a  great  deal  of 
talk  about  reform  in  civil-service  appointments,  but  the  country 
stands  in  greater  need  of  reform  in  the  manner  of  making  educa 
tional  appointments.  There  is  more  favoritism,  more  of  politics 
and  church,  mixed  up  in  the  annual  appointments  of  the  300,000 
teachers  in  the  country  than  in  all  the  custom-houses;  and  there  is 
more  ignorance  and  unfitness  for  position  than  in  all  the  post-offices 
and  civil-service  places  taken  together. 

I  make  no  random  assertions.  I  speak  from  a  thorough  personal 
knowledge  of  our  State;  and  teachers  and  educators  from  other 
States  affirm  the  same  condition  of  things  with  them.  It  is  un 
doubtedly  worse  in  the  newer  States  than  in  the  older,  and  worse  in 
the  States  evenly  balanced,  and  subject  to  frequent  political  changes, 
than  in  the  one-sided  States  always  controlled  by  the  same  political 
party.  Right  here  in  Boston,  the  centre  of  conservatism,  there  is 
little  change,  because  for  twenty-five  years  there  has  been  no  change 
in  the  political  character  of  the  Board  of  Education.  But,  each  suc 
ceeding  year,  every  one  of  the  thousand  teachers  here  feels  that  it  is 
possible  for  one  single  enemy  on  the  Board  to  secure,  by  persistent 
misrepresentation,  and  by  trading  votes,  the  removal  of  any  teacher. 
Occasionally,  even  in  Utopia,  it  happens  that  a  teacher  is  "  left  out/5 


BOARDS   OF   EXAMINATION.  179 

and  consequently  no  teacher  can  act  or  can  think  independently; 
and  it  is  even  whispered  that  it  makes  a  material  difference  with  a 
man's  chances  whether  he  be  a  believer  in  Cotton  Mather  or  in 
Darwin. 

If  the  Boston  Brahmins  like  this  condition  of  petty  servitude  to 
school  directors,  I  am  perfectly  willing  they  shall  fold  their  arms 
with  all  due  meekness  and  gratitude,  leaving  the  work  of  reforma 
tion  to  outside  barbarians.  They  get  better  salaries  than  we  do  out 
West,  and  consequently  are  conservative. 

Until  there  is  a  reform  in  these  defective  points  of  our  school 
system,  it  seems  to  me  there  can  be  no  marked  and  permanent  im 
provement  in  our  public  schools  as  a  whole.  There  will  be  indi 
vidual  schools  that,  under  superior  teachers,  wrill  attain  a  high 
degree  of  excellence;  but  the  general  average  of  the  schools  cannot 
be  raised  much  higher  than  it  is,  because  the  system  neither  en 
courages  independent  thought  nor  tolerates  progress. 

Puttering  in  conventions  over  the  little  details  of  teaching  arith 
metic,  grammar,  and  geography,  will  avail  nothing.  Men  are  wanted 
to  shape  legislation,  to  dig  out  the  c/e6m,and  with  strong  and  rough 
hands  to  lay  the  superstructure  of  a  better  system  of  American  school 
supervision  and  school  teaching. 

There  are  some  men  and  women  engaged  in  public  school  service 
who  make  teaching  a  life-work,  who  understand  their  business,  and 
who  are  earnestly  devoted  to  their  work,  and  the  rights  and  privi 
leges  of  this  class  demand  a  careful  consideration.  There  are  only 
a  few  States  that  have  any  system  of  professional  examinations  by 
which  a  public  school  teacher  can  secure  a  professional  life  diploma, 
and  thereafter  be  exempted  from  the  humiliation  of  periodic  exam 
inations  by  petty  school  officials,  just  emerging  from  babyhood  of 
official  ignorance  of  the  whole  subject  of  education. 

And  even  if  a  life  certificate  can  be  secured  in  a  few  States,  such 
as  Illinois,  Ohio,  Iowa,  or  California,  it  is  of  no  legal  value  outside 
of  the  particular  State  in  which  it  is  granted.  California  is  the  only 
State  that  recognizes  by  law  the  State  diplomas  and  certificates  of 
other  States,  by  placing  them  on  an  equal  footing  with  her  own. 
Were  I,  after  twenty  years  of  continous  service  as  a  teacher,  as  State 
Superintendent,  and  as  Deputy  City  Superintendent  of  San  Fran 
cisco,  holding  in  my  possession  dozens  of  defunct  certificates,  and  a 
life  diploma  of  the  State  of  California,  were  I  to  go  back  to  my 
native  town,  and  seek  employment  in  my  native  State  by  teaching 
the  little  "  Deestrict  School"  that  I  went  to  when  a  barefoot  boy, 
I  should  have  to  "pass  examination"  to  determine  my  fitness  to 
teach  a  little  squad  of  boys  and  girls  to  read  and  write.  The  school 
law  of  New  Hampshire  not  only  fails  to  recognize  the  educational 
diplomas  of  mushroom  States  like  Calif ornia ;  but,  with  true  Puritan 
stubbornness,  neglects  to  provide  her  own  sons,  who  pick  up  educa 
tion  enough  to  become  teachers,  with  any  kind  of  a  State  document 
which  they  can  carry  with  them  to  the  State  where  the}7  go  to  earn  a 
living. 

It  would  be  the  same  were  I  to  go  "looking  out  for  a  school  "  in 
Maine,  or  Vermont,  or  Massachusetts,  or  Khode  Island,  or  Connec 
ticut,  or  any  State  in  the  Union  except  my  own  adopted  State. 


180  BOARDS   OF   EXAMINATION. 

Were  my  esteemed  personal  friend  Mr.  Philbrick,  the  Superin 
tendent  of  the  Public  Schools  of  Boston,  crowned  with  the  well- 
earned  honors  of  twenty-five  years  of  educational  labor,  to  lose  his 
position  at  the  next  annual  election,  and  in  consequence,  were  to 
emigrate  to  California,  to  teach  school  to  earn  a  living,  he  would 
have  to  pass  a  rigid  written  examination,  before  he  could  draw  a 
dollar  of  the  school  fund  for  teaching  the  smallest  school,  in  the 
roughest  mining  camp  in  the  State.  Massachusetts  has  provided  no 
means  of  giving  her  educational  veterans  a  certificate  of  public- 
school  service. 

No  State  in  the  Union,  except  California,  recognizes  by  law  the 
normal  school  diplomas  of  other  States.  In  fact,  many  of  the  States 
fail  to  recognize  by  law  the  diplomas  given  to  the  graduates  of  their 
own  normal  schools. 

There  ought  to  be,  in  every  State,  a  State  Board  of  Examination, 
made  up  exclusively  of  professional  teachers,  including  the  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  having  power  to  issue  life 
diplomas  to  experienced  teachers  of  the  highest  rank,  and  certificates 
of  lower  grades  to  j^ounger  teachers,  of  lower  rank;  these  diplomas 
and  certificates  to  be  issued  only  upon  actual  examination  in  writing, 
and  the  record  of  examination  to  be  indorsed  upon  the  certificates. 
There  ought,  also,  to  be  a  system  of  broad  and  liberal  legislation  in 
all  the  States,  by  means  of  which  a  professional  teacher  holding  a 
diploma  or  certificate  in  one  State,  should  be  guaranteed  a  legal 
recognition  in  all  the  other  States. 

It  is  true  that  this  need  is  more  felt  in  the  newer  Western  and 
Pacific  States  than  in  the  older  ones.  For  instance,  in  California, 
our  teachers  are  drawn  from  every  other  State  in  the  Union.  These 
teachers  must  pass  a  written  examination  in  our  State,  before  they 
can  engage  in  teaching.  This  requisition  often  keeps  them  waiting 
for  several  months  after  their  arrival.  Occasionally  a  teacher  comes 
bringing  a  State  certificate  or  normal  school  diploma,  which  is  at 
once  recognized  under  our  liberal  school  law. 

But  most  of  the  States  have  failed  'to  provide  for  any  system  of 
State  certificates,  by  means  of  which  their  teachers  can  carry  with 
them,  when  they  emigrate,  any  written  evidence  of  professional 
fitness. 

If  the  older  States  do  not  feel  the  local  need  of  some  provision  of 
this  kind,  they  owe  a  duty  to  their  educated  sons  and  daughters, 
who  seek  a  wider  field  of  action  in  the  newer  States.  They  owe  a 
duty  to  the  cause  of  National  American  Education. 

In  addition  to  a  State  system  of  examination  as  a  means  of  pro 
tecting  the  public  schools  against  charlatans,  ignoramuses,  and 
humbugs  generally,  it  is  indispensable  that  eveiy  State  have  an 
efficient  system  of  city,  county,  and  township  boards  of  examination. 

These  boards  ought  to  be  made  up  of  each  city,  county,  or  town 
superintendent,  together  with  from  three  to  five  professional  teach 
ers,  themselves  holders  of  high-grade  certificates.  They  should 
have  power  to  issue,  on  actual  written  examinations,  certificates  of 
different  grades,  valid  for  periods  of  time  ranging  from  two  to  ten 
years,  according  to  grade. 


BOARDS   OF   EXAMINATION.  181 

These  boards  ought  to  be  paid  a  reasonable  sum  for  their  work, 
otherwise  it  will  not  be  well  done.  They  ought  to  be  made  up  ex 
clusively  of  practical  teachers,  for  the  same  reason  that  only  lawyers 
can  legally  examine  law  students  applying  for  admission  to  the  bar, 
that  only  physicians  examine  medical  students,  and  that  only  clergy 
men  pass  on  the  fitness  of  theological  students  to  enter  the  ministry. 
By  combining  a  system  of  State,  city,  county,  and  town  examinations, 
together  with  inter-state  legislation,  something  might  be  done  to 
raise  the  standard  of  public  school  teaching. 

It  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that  so  little  has  already  been  done  in  this 
direction.  It  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  nine  tenths 
of  the  men  and  women  engaged  in  keeping  school  are  intending  and 
expecting  to  get  out  of  the  business  as  soon  as  they  can.  Otherwise, 
they  would  never  submit  to  the  humiliation  of  successive  examina 
tions  by  petty  officials,  who  often  know  little  or  nothing  about  edu 
cation,  but  who  delight  in  a  brief  official  importance. 

It  is  urged  against  this  plan  of  competitive,  professional  examina 
tions  in  writing,  that  "percentages"  represent  mere  scholarship, 
and  fail  to  gauge  the  power  to  discipline,  the  tact  to  manage,  and 
the  skill  to  teach. 

This  may  be  true  to  some  extent,  but  it  is  also  certain  that,  while 
some  good  scholars  inay/Vu7  when  submitted  to  tlie  final  test  of  the 
school-room,  no  ignorant  teacher  can  possibly  make  a  good  teacher 
under  any  circumstances.  There  is  a  grade  of  scholarship  below 
which  no  man  or  woman  is  fitted  to  make  a  trial  of  teaching.  Above 
this  standard,  some  will  succeed  and  some  will  fail.  So  it  is  with 
graduates  of  the  law  schools,  the  divinity  schools,  and  the  medical 
schools. 

It  may  be  urged  that  boards  of  examination  will  show  favorit 
ism  in  issuing  certificates  to  friends.  So  they  will,  unless  the  people 
elect  incorruptible  school  officers,  and  appoint  incorruptible  teachers. 
The  best  laws  ever  framed,  and  the  best  systems  ever  devised,  are 
never  binding  on  corrupt  or  incapable  executive  officers. 

It  may  be  urged  that  the  diploma  of  a  college  ought  to  be  taken 
as  a  valid  certificate  of  fitness  to  teach.  Now  a  college-bred  young" 
man  may  or  may  not  be  qualified  to  teach.  I  have  known  many 
young  men  coming  to  California,  with  flying  colors  and  fresh  diplo 
mas,  who  ignominiously  failed  to  secure  a  certificate  to  teach  even 
the  lowest  grade  country  school,  on  an  examination  in  arithmetic, 
grammar,  geography,  history,  reading,  and  spelling,  so  elementary 
in  its  character,  that  to  a  pupil  of  average  attainment  in  the  second 
grade  of  an  ordinary  grammar  school,  it  would  have  been  mere  play. 
They  not  only  showed  no  "fitness  to  teach/'  but  they  exhibited  a 
most  lamentable  ignorance  of  the  very  elements  required  to  be  taught 
in  every  common  school.  They  might  have  been  brilliant  in  the  dead 
languages,  but  they  misspelled  their  mother  tongue,  they  murdered 
English,  and  they  couldn't  cipher.  There  can  be  no  safe  and  sure 
test,  except  actual  examination. 

I  do  not  deny  that  the  hobby  of  written  examinations  may  be 
ridden  to  death.  It  has  been  wickedly  said  by  somebody — doubtless, 
some  luckless  examinee — that  the  leading  object  of  many  examina- 


182  BOARDS   OF    EXAMINATION. 

tions  is  to  give  the  examiners  a  chance  to  show  off  their  own  attain 
ments.  I  have  seen  many  sets  of  questions  that  seemed  to  be  fossil 
curiosities,  picked  up  during  a  life-long  search  after  abnormal  things 
— "tough  sums"  in  arithmetic  and  algebra,  the  product  of  some 
mathematician  run  to  seed;  gleanings  of  the  tag  ends  of  the 
•countless  rules,  and  notes  and  exceptions,  and  annotations  and  ex 
planations,  and  illustrations  and  idioms,  of  Lindley  Murray,  that 
great  grammarian  who  wrote  bad  English,  and  made  sad  the  hearts 
of  unnumbered  generations  of  school  boys  and  school  girls;  twisted 
elliptical  sentences  to  be  parsed  according  to  Smith,  or  Brown,  or 
Greene,  or  Wells,  or  Weld,  or  Sanborn,  or  Kerl,  or  Hart,  or  Clark, 
or  Quackenbos,  or  Bullion,  or  Pinneo,  or  Nokes,  or  Stokes,  or  Niles,  or 
Stiles,  or  Thompson,  or  Pickwick  ;lunheard-of  words  of  crooked  or 
thography,  the  gnarled  growth  of  centuries  of  changes  of  the  English 
tongue,  strung  together  like  onions,  in  away  that  would  have  brought 
tears  to  the  eyes  of  old  Webster  himself,  t^.at  dear  old  philological 
bush-ranger,  who  fought  orthography  on  his  own  hook,  in  defiance  of 
all  usage,  and  of  all  laws  of  linguistic  warfare;  questions  in  geog 
raphy  on  zig-zag  boundaries,  on  the  length  of  all  the  rivers  of  all  the 
world,  from  the  Amazon  down  to  the  trout-brooks  that  we  fished  in 
when  boys;  on  the  distance  of  the  classic  towns  of  "  You  Bet"  and 
"  Ked  Dog,"  in  California,  from  Nijni  Novogorod  and  the  sources  of 
the  Nile;  on  the  direction  of  Brandy  Gulch  and  Whisky  Canon 
from  Ujiji  and  Petropaulovski;  questions  in  history  requiring  the 
year  and  the  day  of  the  month  of  the  settlement  of  every  State  in 
the  Union,  supplemented  by  senseless  interrogatories  on  historical 
myths  known  only  in  our  school  text-books;  impracticable  questions 
on  theory  and  practice  of  teaching,  about  what  ought  to  be  done 
under  impossible  conditions;  questions  about  elements  of  penman 
ship  that  even  such  accomplished  penmen  as  Greeley,  or  Choate,  or 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  couldn't  answer;  questions  on  Sanscrit  roots 
no  Brahmin  ever  heard  of;  questions  on  the  constitution  that  would 
have  floored  the  "  Great  Expounder;"  questions  on  physiology  that 
would  puzzle  Darwin;  questions  on  natural  philosophy  at  which 
Huxley  orTyndall  would  be  dumb;  questions  which  showed  the  ex 
aminer  to  be  "  stick,  stark,  staring  mad,"  and  wiiich  no  sane  man 
could  answer.  But  a  practical  system  of  examinations  presupposes 
a  common-sense  style  of  conducting  them. 

In  conclusion,  I  submit  the  following  propositions  for  the  consid 
eration  of  teachers,  and  educators,  and  legislators : 

1.  A  comprehensive   system   of    State,    city,  county,  and  town 
Boards  of  Examination. 

2.  Boards  of  Examination  to  be  made  up  of  State,  city,  county, 
or  town  -superintendents,  together  with  a  limited  number  of  profes 
sional    teachers,  appointed  in  the  manner  best  suited  to  the  school 
systems  of  the  different  States. 

3.  A  graded  series  of  teachers'  certificates,  from  life  diplomas 
down  to  temporary  certificates,  valid  for  one  year,  granted  on  actual 
examination  only. 

4.  Examinations  to  be  conducted  in  writing,  and  the  percentages 
obtained  in  each  study  to  be  indorsed  on  the  certificates. 


SPECIMEN   SET   OF   QUESTIONS. 


183 


5.  A  legal  recognition  by  each  State  of  the  professional  certifi 
cates  issued  in  other  States. 

6.  A  provision  for  the  legal  recognition,  by  Boards  of  Examina 
tion  in  each  State,  of  the  normal  school  diplomas  issued  by  the 
normal  schools  of  other  States  and  other  countries. 

7.  A  determined  and  combined  effort,  to  shape  legislation  so  as  to 
secure  longer  terms  of  office  to  State,  city,  county,  and  town  super 
intendents,  to   members   of   Boards   of  Education,  and   to  school 
trustees,  thereby  securing  some  degree  of  uniform  progress  in  edu 
cational  management. 

8.  A  war  of   independence,  to  be  waged  against  the  outrageous 
system  of  the  annual  election  of  teachers,  a  plan  which  reduces  them 
below  the  level  of  the  holder  of  the  smallest  post-office  in  the  gift 
of  a  victorious  political  party. 


SPECIMEN  SET  OF  QUESTIONS. 

QUARTERLY  EXAMINATION,  JUNE,  1876. 
OEDEE    OP    EXAMINATION. 


1.  General  Questions. 

2.  Orthography 100 

3.  Grammar 100 

4.  Written  Arithmetic 100 

5.  Geography 50 

6.  *Eeading  (with  oral  exercises)  50 

7.  Theory  and  Practice 50 

8.  Defining  (word  analysis) 50 

9.  Mental  Arithmetic 50 

10.  *0ral  Grammar 25 

11 .  History  of  the  United  States . .  50 

12.  Composition 50 


13.  Penmanship 25 

14.  Algebra 50 

15.  Natural  Philosophy 50 

16.  Physiology 50 

17.  Natural  History 50 

18.  Constitution  of  United  States 

and  California 25 

19.  School  Laws  of  California 25 

20.  Industrial  Drawing 25 

21.  Vocal  Music 25 

Total   .  ..1000 


*  The  Oral  Examination  may  be  conducted  at  any  time,  by  taking  each  appli 
cant  separately. 

i.  GENERAL  QUESTIONS. 

1.  Name,  age,  birthplace. 

2.  Where  educated. 

3.  Experience  in  teaching. 

4.  What  certificate,  if  any. 

5.  Are  you  an  applicant  for  a  State  certificate 

2.  SPELLING. 
I.  DICTATION  PAEAGEAPH. 

[50  Credits.    Three  Credits  off  for  each  misspelled  word,  or  misplaced  capital.] 

Had  the  Plantagenets,  as  at  one  time  seemed  likely,  succeeded  in 
uniting  all  France  under  their  government,  it  is  probable  that 
England  would  never  have  had  an  independent  existence.  The 
noble  language  of  Milton  and  Burke  would  have  remained  a 


|UNJ-TER8ITY 


184  SPECIMEN   SET   OF   QUESTIONS. 

rustic  dialect,  without  a  literature,  a  fixed  grammar,  or  a  fixed 
orthography,  and  would  have  been  contemptuously  abandoned 
to  the  use  of  boors.  No  man  of  English  extraction  would  "have 
risen  to  eminence,  except  by  becoming,  in  speech  and'habits,  a 
Frenchman. 

II.  WORDS. 

[50  Credits.     One  Credit  off  for  each  misspelled  word.] 


•  harangue 

"vignette 

^diphtheria 

corridor 

.fricasee 

guarantee 

professor 

kindergarten 

maintenance  / 

N  rendezvous  v 

•jPestalozzi 

convertible 

blamable 

curable 

metempsychosis 

vacillation 

feasible 

responsible 

vaccination 

indestructible 

inexorable     , 

noticeable 

anonymous 

""•rnusu't* 

independence 

suppliance 

wasn't 

-^curriculum 

'^•contrivance 

/perseverance 

immaculate 

'^avoirdupois 

--'farinaceous    v 

'-^sacrilegious 

•'bissextile 

technology 

Jlsaikh 

Matthew 

sphericity 

-  -philologist 

hieroglyphics 

domicile 

-tyrannical 

•  ammunition 

"•defendant 

Buddhism 

pharmacy 

inflammable 

metaphysician 
Mohammedanism/ 

3.  GRAMMAR. 

[100  Credits.     Time,  1%  hours.] 

1.  Write  a  synopsis  of  the  verb  to  speak,  in  .the  indicative  mood,, 
third  person,  singular  number,  passive  voice. 

2.  State  three  cases  where  the  relative  that  must  be  used  in  pref 
erence  to  who  or  which,  and  illustrate  each  case  by  a  sentence. 

3.  State  all  the  noun-suffixes  and  verb-suffixes   of  inflection,  in 
English. 

4.  Write  the  plurals  of — 1,  focus;  2,  index;  3,  his;  4,  memoran 
dum;  5,  animalcule. 

5.  Correct  such  of  the  following  as  are  not,  in  your  opinion,  good 
English : 

I.  You  had  better  go. 
II.  I  had  rather  not  do  it. 

III.  The  ship  was  soon  lost  sight  of. 

IV.  It  is  the  strongest  case  I  ever  heard  of. 

V.  "  The  deadest  piece  of  ironmongery  itithe  trade." 

6.  c<  The  squirrel  eyes  askance  the  chestnuts  browning."     Parse, 
with  brief  forms:  1,  squirrel;  2,  eyes;  3,  askance;  4,  browning;  5, 
chestnuts. 

7.  "  Let  not  Ambition  mock  their  useful  toil, 

Their  homely  joys  and  destiny  obscure; 
Nor  Grandeur  hear,  with  a  disdainful  smile, 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor." 

I.  What  kind  of  a  sentence  ? 
II.  How  many  statements,  or  propositions? 

III.  Why  a  comma  after  toil  ? 

IV.  Why  a  semicolon  after  obscure  ? 
V.  Derivation  of  simple  ? 


SPECIMEN  SET  OF  QUESTIONS.  185 

8.  Parse,  with  brief  models:  1,  ambition;  2,  grandeur;  3,  hear; 
4,  obscure;  5,  why  are  ambition  and  grandeur  capitalized  ? 

9.  State  five  ways  in  which  you  can  make  use  of  a  reading  lesson 
in  connection  with  grammar  ? 

10.  Correct  the  following  sentences,  and  give  a  general  rule  or 
direction  to  pupils,  covering  each  case: 

I.  The  lecture  was  brief,  short,  and  concise. 
II.  She  is  a  teacher  whom  all  are  pleased  with. 

III.  A  pin  was  accidentally  swallowed  by  a  little  girl  with 

out  a  head. 

IV.  We  reached  home,  at  length,  after  great  difficulty,  in  a 

blinding  snow-storm,  through  deep  snow  drifts. 
V.  It  can  be  no  worse  for  us,  if  we  fail. 

4.  WRITTEN  ARITHMETIC. 

[100  Credits.    Time,  2%  hours.] 

[NOTE.— Leave  all  your  work  on  the  paper;  make  no  analysis  or  explanation 
unless  called  for,  and  then  give  in  full.] 

1.  Perform  the  following  operations:  Multiply  3.05  by  2-J-,  sub 
tract  0.21,  divide  the  result  by  J,  and  add  to  it  the  quotient  of  9 
divided  by  l-900th. 

2.  A  man  owned  a  square  field,  containing  ten  acres.     He  gave 
enough  from  it  for  a  street  4  rods  wide,  all  around  it.     How  much 
land  had  he  left  ? 

3.  How  many  feet  of  siding,  six  inches  wide,  will  cover  the  sides 
of  a  house  which  is  24  feet  by  30  feet,  and  15  feet  high,  allowing  -£- 
for  the  lap.     (No  gable  ends.) 

4.  A  water  tank  is  3J  wide  and  5J  feet  long.     How  deep  must  it 
be  to  hold  8  hogsheads  ? 

5.  A  man  sold  two  horses  for  $240  each;  on  the  one  he  gained  20 
per  cent.,  and  on  the  other  he  lost  20  per  cent.     Did  he  gain  or  lose 
on  the  two  transactions,  taken  together,  and  how  much? 

6.  A  vertical  pole  99  feet   high   is   standing  in  a  public  park, 
equally  distant  from  the  four  corners  of  the  park.     The  park  is  rect 
angular,  and  16  rods  by  36  rods.     How  far  is  it  from  the  top  of  the 
pole  to  a  corner  of  the  park  ? 

7.  A  merchant  sold  goods  at  30  per  cent,  profit,  and  paid  •§-  per 
cent,  of  his  gross  receipt  for  expenses,  what  is  his  net  gain  on  sales 
amounting  to  $8,000  ? 

8.  Deduce  the  multiplier  used  in  compound  interest  for  finding 
the  compound  interest  on  any  sum  of  money,  at  5  per  cent.,  for  5 
years. 

9.  An  eccentric  old  lady  papered  the  walls  of  her  room  with  3 
cent  postage  stamps.     Her  room  was  16  by  10  feet,  and  12  feet 
high;  it  had  2  windows,  each  5J  by  4  feet,  and  2  doors,  each  6  by 
3  feet.     A  postage  stamp  is  1  inch  long  by  15-16  wide.     What  was 
the  cost  of  papering  her  room  ? 

10.  On  a  promissory  note  from  John  Doe  to  Richard  Roe,  San 
Francisco,  January  4,  1874,  for  $1,200,  payable  on  demand,  10  per 
cent,    a  year,   there   were   paid:    March  19,  1874,  $300;  Aug.  15, 

12 


186  SPECIMEN   SET  OF   QUESTIONS. 

\ 

1874,  $200;  Dec.  21,  1874,  $150.  Write  the  note  in  due  form,  and 
compute  the  interest  by  the  Business  Rule  up  to  the  time  of  pay 
ment,  Jan.  4,  1875. 

5.  GEOGRAPHY. 

[50  Credits.     Time,  1  hour.] 

1.  On  a  steamer   trip  from  New  Orleans  to  Pittsburgh,  name  the 
five  largest  cities  you  would  pass,  and  the  State  in  which  each  is 
situated. 

2.  State  the   following  facts  about  Europe:     1,  area;  2,  popula 
tion;  3,  five  chief  cities;  4,  height  of  Mt.  Blanc;  5,  five  chief  rivers. 

3.  What  is  the  estimated  population,  1876,  of  :  1,  San  Francisco; 
2,  California;  3,  the  United  States;  4,  Philadelphia;  5,  St.  Louis. 

4.  Name  the  five  most  populous  islands  in  the  world,  in  the  order 
of  population. 

5.  At  what  places  on  the  earth  is  the  sun  vertical  at  noon,  at  least 
once  a  year  ? 

6.  How  is  it  proved  that  the  earth  is  an  oblate-spheroid  ? 

7.  State  the  chief  cause  of  ocean  currents,  and  also  two  minor 
causes  that  influence  them. 

8.  State  the  causes  of  the  dense  fogs  that  prevail  off  the  coast  of 
Chili  and  Peru,  Oregon  and  California. 

9.  Name  the  three  chief  cities  of:     1,  New  England;  2,  the  Mid 
dle  States;  3,  the  Southern  States;  4,  the  Western  States;  5,  the 
Pacific  States. 

10.  Name  the  three  leading  countries  in  the  production  of  each  of 
the  following:     1,  cotton;  2,  sugar;  3,  gold;  4,  iron;  5,  wool. 

6.  READING. 

[25  Credits.    Time,  30  minutes.] 

1.  Illustrate  the  use  of  each  of  the  following  marks :  1,  macron; 
2,  breve;  3;  diaeresis;  4,  cedilla;  5,  caret. 

2.  Write  ten  words  having  the  sound  of  a  in  half. 

3.  By  means  of  accent,  and  the  notation  of  vowels  used  in  Web 
ster's  Dictionary,  indicate  the  correct  pronunciation  of  the  follow 
ing  words:    1,  interesting;  2,  museum;  3,  irreparable;  4,  tirade;  5, 
irrevocable. 

4  and  5.  Make  the  marks  used  in  Webster's  Dictionary  to  indi 
cate  the  sound  of  each  vowel  in  each  of  the  following  words:  [Ex 
aminers  will  write  the  words  upon  the  blackboards,  omitting  the  no 
tation.  One  credit  off  for  each  error  in  notation.} 

ale  end  old  up 

arm  verge  odd  rude 

all  prey  move  pull 

add  heir  done  urge 

ask  pine  wolf  moon 

what  pin  nor  foot 

air  pique  use  fly 

eve  thirst 


SPECIMEN  SET  OF   QUESTIONS.  fVj£|^187 

7.  METHODS  OF  TEACHING. 

[50  Credits.     Time,  1  hour.] 


1.  Explain  the  distinctive  features  of  the  methods  of  instruction 
introduced  by  Pestalozzi. 

2.  Name  three  important  educational  topics  that  are  attracting  the 
attention  of  educators,  teachers,  and  school  officers. 

3.  Name  five  books  on  Teaching  that  you  would  recommend  to 
persons  ignorant  of  both  the  science  and  the  art  of  teaching. 

4.  What  is  the  so-called  Grube  System  of  teaching  arithmetic  to 
beginners  ? 

5.  In  addition  to  teaching  the  table,  how  would  you  teach  square 
measure  to  a  class '? 

6.  Write  ten  questions  on  the  local  geography  of  the  place  where 
you  are  passing  examination,  such  as  you  would  put  to  a  class  of 
beginners. 

7.  Can  you  name  two  leading  defects  in  the  text-books  on  gram 
mar  now  in  use  in  this  State  ? 

8.  What  criticisms  do  you  make  on  the  arithmetics  in  use  ? 

9.  Explain  the  chemical  changes  that  take  place  in  the  burning  of 
a  candle. 

10.  Explain  to  a  class  the  cause  of  the  strong  sea  breezes  that  pre 
vail  in  Summer  along  the  coast  of  California. 

8.  DEFINING  AND  WORD  ANALYSIS. 

[50  Credits.] 

1.  Derivation  and  root  meaning  of:     1,  orthography;   2,  syntax; 

3,  geography;  4,  botany;  5,  calculate. 

2.  Define  impediment,  and  give  two  synonymous  words. 

3.  Explain  the  difference  between  diurnal  and  daily,  rotation  and 
revolution. 

4.  Make  a  list  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  prefixes  and  suffixes. 

5.  What  classes  of  words  in  our  language  are  mainly  of  Teutonic 
or  Anglo-Saxon  origin;  of  Romanic  origin  ? 

6.  Derivation  and  meaning  of:  1,  scrupulous;  2,  supercilious. 

7.  Write  a  single  sentence  containing  both  shall  and  will  correct 
ly  used. 

8.  Origin  of  :   1,  volcano;  2,  bonanza;  3,  demijohn;  4,  arcadian; 
5,  sybarite. 

9.  Define  the  expression,  "resumption  of  specie  payments." 

10.  Derivation  of:     1,  centennial;  2,  exposition;  3,  Philadelphia; 

4,  the  title  "  Dom  ;  "  5,  international. 

9.  MENTAL  ARITHMETIC. 

[50  Credits.     Time,  %  hour.] 

[NOTE. — Questions  to  be  read  by  the  Examiner;  only  the  answers 
required.] 

1.  What  is  500  per  cent,  of  2/5  ? 

2.  What  is  the  interest  on  $60  for  2J  months,  at  6  per  cent,  a 
year? 


138  SPECIMEN  SET  OF  QUESTIONS. 

.  3.  One-half  and  one-fifth  of  a  number,  plus  6,  equals  the  num 
ber;  find  the  number. 
4    Add  2/5  and  3/8. 


5.  How  many  leet  in  4U  :  -Unno-Vit  for  $40  9 

6     Af  1 9A  p.fints  each,  how  many  oranges  can  t 


fi    At  J.5w  cem«  tJtiuii,  XL^»T      -"j  ~  ~  °  ,    ^p 
7'  Divide  the  decimal  .4  by  the  decimal   05 
S.  How  many  ounces  in  4|  pounds  of  gold  .<• 
9    In  9  rods,  how  many  feet  ? 
LO'.  How  many  inches  in  5/9  of  a  square  foot  ? 


70-20-2^  9  X  6-9  -,  7  =  ? 


g-  -  •*--' 

* 


16*.  Cost  of  6J  yards  of  calico,  at  15  cents. 
17    One  thousand  is  five-sixths  of  what? 
18*  Four-fifths  is  what  part  of  twenty  I 

'20   Sst^l^G^r  cent.,  for  2  years,  9  months   21  days. 
21    Interest  of  $300,  for  2  years,  11  months,  at  4  per  cent. 
22.  $20  is  what  per  cent,  of  $3C  I  ? 

23  Find  6(')§  per  cent,  of  $1200. 

24  24  is  120  per  cent,  of  what  i 

25:  What  number,  increased  by  80  per  cent.-  36? 

xi.  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

[50  Credits  ;  5  Questions,  8  Credits  each.] 

1   rot  >.i.t  mute  i»  0»  Iteto-J  °'  tta  B"»tal»»  » 


of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 


[One  Question,  Ten  Credits.] 

12.  COMPOSITION. 

[50  Credits.    Time,  1  hour.] 

1    Write  five  brief  directions  about  composition-writing,  such  as 
vo^'  would  «i«  to  the  highest  grade  in  a  Grammar  School. 
y  2    Write  two  directions  about  pvran. 


SPECIMEN  SET  OF  QUESTIONS.  189 

3.  "What  kind  of  composition-exercises  would  you  give  to  children 
in  a  Primary  School,  during  their  third  school  year? 

4.  Give  the  "  heads3'  of  a  composition  about  Government. 

5.  Write  the  most  important  rules  of  punctuation  that  you  would 
give  a  class  in  composition,  as  follows :     1,  two  rules  for  the  com 
ma;  2,  two  rules  for  the  semicolon;  3,  one  rule  for  the  dash;  4,  two 
rules  for  the  exclamation  mark;  5,  two  rules  for  quotation  marks. 


14.  ALGEBRA. 

[50  Credits;  5  Questions,  8  Credits  each.] 

1.  Find  the  square  root  of  4a4—  12a3+  25a2—  24a  +  16. 

2.  Divide  the  number  5  into  two  such  parts  that  twice  their  pro 
duct  increased  by  the  sum  of  their  squares  may  be  equal  to  25. 

3.  Find  the  value  of  x  and  y  : 


4.  Difference  between  a  pure  and  an  affected  quadratic  equation  ? 

5.  Extract  the  cube  root  of  a6—  6a5+  15a4—  20a3+  15a'2—  6a  +  1. 

[One  Question,  Ten  Credits.] 

6.  What  are  logarithms,  who  invented  them,  and  what  are  their 
uses? 

15.  PHYSICS. 

[50  Credits;  5*  Questions,  8  Credits  each.] 

1.  How  far  will  a  cannon  ball,  dropped  from  a  height,  fall  in  4 
seconds? 

2.  Give  four  illustrations  of  the  correlation  of  heat  and  motion. 

3.  How  is  light  supposed  to  be  diffused. 

4.  A  body  would  weigh  4  tons,  8,000  miles  above  the  earth's 
surface,  find  its  weight  at  the  surface. 

5.  On  what  law  of  light  does  the  action  of  the  microscope  de 
pend  ? 

[One  Question  Ten  Credits.] 

6.  What    are   the   laws   discovered   by   Kepler  that  govern   the 
motions  and  distances  of  the  planets  ? 


16.  PHYSIOLOGY  AND  HYGIENE. 

[50  Credits;  5  Questions,  8  Credits  each.] 

1.  State  two  differences  between  the  veins  and  the  arteries. 

2.  State  the  difference  between   the  functions  of   the  cerebrum 
and  the  cerebellum. 

3.  Direct  a  class  how  to  treat  headaches  ;  common  colds. 

4.  In  case  the  artery  of  the  wrist  or  the  ankle  were  cut,  direct  a 
pupil  how  to  stop  the  bleeding  until  the  arrival  of  a  physician. 

5.  Give  a  class  five  rules  for  taking  care  of  their  eyes. 


190  SPECIMEN  SET  OF  QUESTIONS. 

[One  Question,  Ten  Credits.] 

6.  State  the  locality  of:  1,  the  patella  ;  2,  the  ulna  ;  3,  scapula  ; 
4,  tibia  \  5,  hyoid  bone. 


17.  NATURAL  HISTORY. 

[50  Credits.] 

1.  What  changes  take  place  in  the  organs  of  a  flower  when  it  is 
made  "  double"  by  culture? 

2.  Name  and  classify  five  of  the  most  beautiful  flowers,  indige 
nous  to  California. 

3.  Give  the  transformations  of  the  frog. 

4.  How  does  the  natural  system  of  classification  differ  from  the 
artificial  system  ? 

5.  Mention  the  principal  forest  trees  of  this  State. 

6.  What  are  the  chief  wild  animals  of   this  State,   and  where 
found  ? 


18.    CONSTITUTIONS   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES   AND 
CALIFORNIA. 

[25  Credits;  5  Questions,  4  Credits  each.] 

1.  When  was  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  framed;  who 
was  President  of  the  Convention,  and  when  was  it  adopted  by  a 
majority  of  the  States. 

2.  Name  five  rights  of  the  people  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States. 

3.  State   the    substance  of  two   important  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

4.  How  is  the  United  States  Constitution  amended  ? 

5.  What  educational  provisions  does  the  Constitution  of  Califor 
nia  contain  ? 

[One  Question,  Five  Credits.]  \ 

6.  In  framing  the  Constitution,  why  was   each  State,  large  or 
small,  allowed  two  Senators? 


19.   SCHOOL  LAW. 

[25  Credits.] 

1.  What  are  the  conditions  for  obtaining  a  life  diploma? 

2.  In  what  three  different  ways  are  school  moneys  raised  by  tax 
ation  ? 

3.  Name  five  provisions  of  the  school  law  that  are,  in  your  opin 
ion,  good  ones. 

4.  What   are  the   provisions  of  the  State   law  about  educating 
negro  children  ? 

5.  How  is  the  State  University  supported  ? 


PROFESSIONAL   TEACHERS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


191 


20.  DRAWING. 

[25  Credits.] 

1.  Name  any  benefits  derived  from  the  study  of  drawing  in  the 
public  schools. 

2.  What  system  of  drawing  has  been  adopted  in  this  State  ? 

3.  What  are  the  distinctive  features  of  this  system? 

4.  In  a  graded  school,  how  much  time  would  you  give  for  draw 
ing  ?    In  an  ungraded  school  ? 

5.  Define:     1,  a  right-angled  triangle;  2,  a  circle;  3,  a  surface; 
4,  a  vertical  line;  5,  a  perpendicular  line. 


21.  MUSIC. 
[25  Credits.] 

1.  How  can  a  teacher  that  cannot  sing  have  singing  in  school? 

2.  Name  two  benefits  arising  from  school  singing. 

3.  How  much  time  ought  to  be  given  to  singing,  and  when  should 
the  time  be  taken  ? 

4.  What  text-books  on  music  have  been  adopted  by  the  State 
Board  of  Education  ? 

5.  Write  the  scale. 


VII.    THE  PROFESSIONAL  TEACHERS  OF 
CALIFORNIA. 


LIST  OF  THE  HOLDERS  OF  LIFE  DIPLOMAS 

WHICH  HAVE  BEEN  ISSUED  ONLY  TO  HOLDERS  OF  EDUCATIONAL  DIPLOMAS  THAT  HAVE 
HAD  TEN  YEAKS'  EXPEKIENCE  IN  TEACHING. 


[The  names  of  holders  of  diplomas  who  have  permanently  engag 
irsuits  are  marked  t;  the  names  of  holders  deceased  are  marked  *.] 


ed  in  other 


pursuits 

Abbott,  "Warren '71 

Aldrich,  Abbie  F '76 

Allen,  L.  D '71 

Allsopp,  J.  P.  C '69 

fAmes,  Charles  C '69 

Ames,   Martha '75 

Anderson,  J.  W '68 

Anderson,  Mrs.  C.  A '73 

Ashton,  Mrs.  N.  J '76 

Atwood,  Mrs.  C.  L '67 

Austin,  Miss  Minnie  F.  .      .  .'66 


Babcock,  WT.  S ;76 

Bagnall,  John '67 

fBailey,  C.  P '68 

fBaker,  George  F '73 

Baldwin,  Miss  Nellie '75 

Barnard,  Miss  A.  S '75 

Barr,  Miss  Sara  A '73 

Batchelder,  H.  T '73 

Baumgardner,  Mrs.  E.  M '76 

Beals,  Mrs.  C.  E '72 

Benjamin,  C.  V '72 


192 


PROFESSIONAL  TEACHERS  OP  CALIFORNIA. 


Bennette,  Fanny  E '69 

Bennett,  Miss  Mary  H '74 

Black,  Samuel  T '7% 

Black,  Charles  M '74 

Bloomer,  A.  C '76 

*Bodwell,  Miss  Mary  L '66 

Bolander,  H.  N '68 

Bradley,  Theodore '66 

Bragg,  Mary  J '75 

Braly,  John  H 69 

Brodt,  A.  W '71 

Brown,  George '66 

fBrown,  F.  E '67 

Brown,  Miss  S.  L '74 

Bryerly,  John  E '76 

Buckman,  F.  S.  S '75 

Bugbey,  Mrs.  B.  N '76 

Bunnell,  George  W '66 

Burke,  Lizzie  K '73 

Campbell,  Miss  C.  C '72 

Campbell,  F.M '73 

Carlton,  H.  P '66 

fCasebolt,  Miss  M.  A '72 

Castelhun,  Miss  Maria  A ....  '74 

Chapman,  M.  Y '72 

Chalmers,  Miss  Annie  B '75 

Chestnutwood,  Mrs.  J.  A.  . .  .'75 

Chestnutwood,  Jno.  A '73 

Childs,  C.  W '68 

Clappe,  Mrs.  L.  A.  K '68 

Clark,  Dorcas '67 

Clark,  Mary  E '67 

fClark,  Miss  H.  M '66 

*Clark,L.  E '70 

Clark,  M.  C '75 

Cleveland,  Miss  E.  A '73 

Coe,EliG '71 

Conklin,  E.  B '71 

fCook,  Mrs.  P '70 

Cook,  Miss  Hannah '73 

fCottle,  Melville '69 

Crane,  Amanda '76 

Craven,  Andrew  F '74 

Crawford,  Mrs.   J.  F '74 

Crawford  T.  O '75 

Crosette,  F.  M '76 

Cross,  C.  W '75 

Crowhurst,    Wm '75 

Crowell,  C.  H '73 

Cummings,  C.  C '66 

D'Arcy,  Miss  M.  E '72 

Davies,  J.  S /76 


Davis,  Mrs.  Imogene  W '75 

Deane,  Mrs.  Margaret '71 

Deetkin,  Mrs.  Lizzie  G '74 

Denman,  James '66 

Dodge,  W.  C '74 

Dooner,  John '75 

Drake,  A.  J '71 

Drake  Chas.  M '76 

Duane,  Mrs.  A.  S '72 

DuBois,  Mrs.  A.  E '68 

Dubois,  J.  B '76 

Duenkel,  Wm '75 

Dwyer,  James '75 

fEickhoff,  J.  Henry '73 

Farley,  A.  J '72 

Field,  Miss  Carrie  P '75 

Finch,  J.  B '71 

Fink,  Augusta  P '75 

Fisk,  Julia  A '76 

Fitzgerald,  A.  L '71 

Foster,  Mrs.  J.  A '73 

Foster,  Mrs.  Emily '74 

Fowler,  Miss  Laura  T '68 

Freeman,  G.  N '75 

Fry,W.H '72 

|FullerA.  L '69 

Furlong,  George '76 

Gabriel,  Mrs.  C.  E '74 

Garrison,  Gazena  A '76 

*  Gates,  Freeman '72 

Gorman,  W.  J '73 

Goodrich,  A.  H '68 

fGraf ,  Miss  Minnie '72 

Grant,  Miss  Ella  G '75 

Grant,  Miss  Helen  A '75 

Gray,  John  C '69 

Greer,  Miss  Jane  E '75 

Griffith,  Mrs.  Aurelia '71 

Gunn,  MissS.M '75 

Gwinn,  James  M '71 

f  Hamilton,  Miss  Addie '73 

f  Hammond,  Josiah  Shaw.  . .  .'73 

Harlow,  James '67 

fHart,  W.  C '73 

Hall,  Frances  M '76 

Hatch,  J.  L '75 

Hayes,  John '76 

Henning,  Irving  P '75 

Herbst  A '73 

Higby,  H.  C ..'75 

Hill,  Miss  A.  H '73 

Hill,  Whitman  H '71 


PROFESSIONAL  TEACHEES  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


193 


Hodgdon,Miss  S.  J '72 

Hoffman,  Mrs.  Mary  L ,-'73 

*  fHoitt,  IraG '66 

fHolbrook,  T.  W.  J '66 

Holder,  W.  W '71 

f  Holmes,  Ahira '66 

f  Holmes,  Ellis  H '66 

Houghton,  Miss  E.  W '66 

v  Howe,  H.  H '68 

tHowe,  J.  M '67 

Howe,  Converse '75 

Hucks,  Annie  E '75 

Hudson,  J.  A '73 

Humphrey,  E.  D '68 

Humphreys,  Miss  L.  A '74 

Humphreys,  Miss  M.  A '74 

Hunt,  Miss  Carrie  L '70 

Hurley,  Miss  J.  M.  A '73 

Hutton,  Chas.  E '73 

Houghton,  George  E '76 

Itsell,  A.  J '74 

Jackman,  Samuel  H '70 

Jessup,  Miss  S.  A '12 

'  Jewett,  Annie  S '76 

Jewett,  Miss  Susan  N '72 

Johnson,  J.  W '76 

Johns,  Charles  T, '71 

Johnson,  J.  G.. '70 

Jones,  George  W '71 

Jones,  Thornton  J '75 

Keegon,  Mary  A '75 

Kelso,  John  E '76 

j     Kennedy,  Kate '67 

Kennedy,  J.  G '71 

Kennedy,  W.  W> '71 

Kercheval,  Miss  Jennie  G.  . .  .'69 

Kincaid,  Mrs.  Mary  W '76 

Kingman,  Mrs.  M.  F '75 

Kinne,  H.  C '72 

Kirkpatrick,  J.  M '69 

Knowlton,  Ebenezer '66 

Lamb,  Miss  Irene '73 

fLeadbetter,  W.  E '70 

f  Leggett,  Joseph '72 

f  Leonard,  T.  C '66 

Levinson,  Miss  Eosa '72 

Levy,  Daniel '73 

Lighthall,  G.  E '71 

Lillie,  John  B '75 

Lipowitz,  Max '75 

fLittlefield,  J.  D '66 

Loomis,  Miss  Amanda '68 


Loudon,  Jacques '76 

Lovett,  C.  M '75 

Lubeck,  Mrs.  Julia  M '75 

Luckey,  W.  T '67 

Lynch,  Miss  Frances '66 

Mack,  George  C '66 

Mackall,  J.  N '72 

f  Makinney,  H.  E '68 

Mann,  Azro  L '67 

Manning,  Miss  Agnes  M '73 

f  Marks,  Bernhard '66 

*  Marriner,  E.  K '66 

Marsh,  Mrs.  S.  W '71 

fMcBride,  H.  E '75 

McCarty,  A.  F '75 

McChesney,  J.  B '67 

McDonald,  A.  H '68 

McDonald,  Mrs.  A.  H '75 

McDonald,  W.  P '75 

McFadden,  Miss  Agnes '75 

McFadden,  W.  M '71 

Menefee-,  C.  A '71 

Metzger,  C.  L '75 

Middleton,  Mrs.  Eliza  F '75 

Miller,  Miss  Ora  E t '73 

Millette,  Percival  C '71 

Milliken,  Mrs.  Ellen  A '73 

McGlashan,  C.  F '76 

Mumford,  Mrs.  M.  E '76 

Minns,  George  W '66 

Moore,  John  A '71 

Morgan,  Mrs.  L.  A '72 

fMorrill,  Joseph  C '67 

Morris,  George  F '67 

Morris,  N.  Z '73 

*Morse,  Augustus,  Jr '67 

Murphy,  Miss  Mary  M 75 

Myrick,  Thomas  S '66 

Moore,  Mrs.  Mary  B '75 

Mayborn,  Mrs.  M.  J '76 

McKenzie,  Margaret.    '76 

McCormick,  Harriet '76 

Nelson,  Henry  A '71 

Nicholson,  Thomas '74 

fNutting,  H.  N '66 

O'Connor,  Joseph '71 

OlingerA.F '72 

Otis,  James '73 

fOverend,  Miss  Lizzie '73 

Oliner,  A.  W '76 

O'Conner,  Maria  E '76 


194 


PROFESSIONAL  TEACHERS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


fParker,  Miss  Jean '71 

Pascoe,  Miss  Mary  I '72 

fPearson,  Dana  C '75 

Peck,  George  H '75 

fPelton,  John  C '66 

fPenwell,  S.  A '68 

Phelps,  Mrs.  M.  W '74 

Potter,  M.B '71 

Powell,  Miss  Elizabeth '75 

Power,  Frank '71 

Prescott,  MissD.  S '71 

Preston,  E.  M '69 

•(•Price,  Caroline '67 

Prior,  Philip '71 

Putraan,  J.  E '75 

Eandall,  A.  H '68 

Rattan,  Volney '74 

Eedway,  J.  W '76 

Reed,  L.   W '70 

Reynolds,  Mrs.  F.  E '72 

Rogers,  James '76 

Rose,  T.  H   '68 

Rousseau,  E '69 

Rowe,  Miss  A.  A '73 

fRowell,  W.K '66 

Ryder,  Miss  L.  E '76 

Salisbury,  Mary  A '76 

Sanders,  W.  A '69 

Sankey,  M.  J '75 

Schellhous,  E.  J '69 

Seawell,  J.  H '76 

Shaw,  Miss  E.  A '72 

Shearer,  S.  M '72 

Shearer,  Mrs.  C.  O '73 

Sherman,  E.  B '76 

Sherman,  Fannie  M '75 

Shipley,  J.C '73 

Short,  Miss  Julia  B '75 

Sibley,  J.  M '66 

f  Simon,  Miss  Frances '72 

Simonton,  George  W '66 

Slavan,   Miss  A.  E '72 

Sollinger,  J.  A '76 

Smith,  Miss  Annie '68 

Smith,  Miss  Carrie  L '72 

Smith,  Chas.  S '76 

Smith,  Miss  Jessie '72 

Smith,  W.  A.  C '68 

Smith,  Miss  Jennie '74 

Southworth,  Mrs.  E.  A '68 

Standeford,  Mrs.  N.  D '75 

Steel,  Thomas  H '75 

Stincen,  Miss  Alice  M '73 


fStone,H.P '71 

Stone,  D.'C '66 

fStone,  Mrs.  B.  H '73 

Stowell,  Fannie  A '74 

Stowell,  MissM.  E   '72 

Stowell,  Miss  P.  M '72 

Stratton,  James '66 

Sullivan,  Miss  Kate '72 

Sumner,  J.  H '73 

Swett,  John '67  -1 

--Swett,  Mrs.  Mary  L '66 

"Swezey,  S.  I.  C '67 

"Tait,  George '66 

f  Taylor,  Robert '66 

Temple,  Miss  Emma - 

Templeton,  Miss  L.  S '72 

Templeton,  M.  L '67 

Thompson,  Helen '72 

Thurber,  A '71 

Thurston,  E.  T '69 

fTrafton,  Dr.  A '71 

Thurton,  Sarah  L '75 

Todd,  H.  J '76 

Towle,  C.  B '76 

f  Upham,  Isaac '69 

Walsh,  Miss  Nellie  E '75 

Warren,  C.  G '69 

Warren,  R.  B..'. '70 

Waterman,  S.  D '71  v 

Watson,  Mrs.  C.  R '72 

Watson,  Miss  Mary  J '72 

Watkins,  Emory '75  < 

Watson,  B.  J '75 

Watson,  Miss  Lizzie  J '74 

Weir,  Miss  Sarah  J '68  i 

Wells,  Mrs.  Laura  H '71  x 

Wermuth,  Hamilton '71 

Wheelock,  Mrs.  D.  B '73 

White,  Silas  A '71 

White,  T.  B '72 

White,  William '68 

White,  Miss  Louisa  E '75 

Williams,  W.  J.  G '69 

Wilson,  H.  R '71 

Wilson,  Jas.  K '75 

Wood,  Mrs.  E.  A '72 

Woodruff,  Miss  Frances  A ...  '70 
Woodworth,  Miss  Janette  E.  .'75 
Woodworth,  Mrs.  A.  W. .  .  .  ''75 

Wright,  Mrs.  A.  E ....'76 

Westby,  Miss  S.  M '76 

Wade,  Margaret '76 

Yates,  W.  A '74 


HOLDERS  OF   STATE  EDUCATIONAL  DIPLOMAS. 


195 


VIII.  HOLDERS  OF  STATE  EDUCATIONAL  DIPLOMAS 


NOTE. — State  diplomas  are  issued  only  to  persons  that  have  been  holders  of  First 
Grade  Certificates  for  at  least  one  year,  and  that  have  taught  at  least  five  years. 
*  Deceased.  t  Not  teaching. 


Abies,  Thomas  J. 
Adams,  Clara  A. 
Adams,  W.  J. 
Aldrich,  Abbie  F. 
Alderson,  M.  J. 
Alexander,  Mary  J. 
Ames,  Martha. 
Anderson,  C.  A. 
Ashbrook.  M.  V. 
Ashbrook,  T.  P. 
Ashley,  Ella  E. 
Ashley,  Julia  V. 
Ashton,  Mrs.  N.  Jennie. 
Augustine,  S.  M. 
Ayers,  Mary  J. 
Babcock,  William  S. 
Baker,  Samuel  D. 
Baldwin,  F.  D. 
Banks,  Jerome. 
Barbour,  Aaron  C. 
Barthelow,  Mrs.  A.  W. 
Beck,  Mrs.  N.  B. 
Betancue,  Lizzie. 
Biggs,  Thomas. 
Bightmire,  S.  A. 
Bissell,  Joseph. 
Bloomer,  A.  C. 
Boardman,  C.  F. 
Bolton,  H. 
Bonnard,  Eureka  A. 
Boyle,  Sarah  J. 
Boynton,  Kate. 
Bovnton,  S.  S. 
Bradshaw,  W.  R. 
Bragg,  Mary  J. 
Breschen,  Seraphine. 
Brier,  K.  W. 
Brigham,  Fannie  E. 
Brigham,  Julia  P. 
Broadbent,  E. 
Brooks,  E.  R. 
Brophy  M. 
Brown,  A.  G. 
Brown,  Chas.  W. 
Brown,  George  J. 
Brown,  J.  B. 
Brown,  Sarah  E. 
Brumsley,  M.  I. 
Bryant,  Annie. 
Buckman,  F.  S.  S. 
Bunnell,  Mrs.  Alice. 
Bush,  Mrs.  E.  A. 
Butterfield,  S.  H. 
Carr,  Ezra  S. 
Campbell,  Amy  T. 


Case,  E.  L. 

Castelhun,  Mary  A. 

*Chase,  Carrie  M. 

Chesnutwood,  Mrs.  J.  A. 

Ciprico,  Anita  C. 

Clark,  W.  J. 

Clay,  William  T. 

Colby,  Julia  E. 

Congdon,  Jas.  S. 

Connolly,  J.  J. 

Conrad,  C.  C. 

Cooper,  Mrs.  F.  A. 

Cory,  A.  A. 

Coulter,  Leonard. 

Crane,  Amanda. 

Crane,  George. 

Crawford,  T.  O. 

Crichton,  Mrs.  A.  M. 

Crocker,  L.  H. 

Cross,  C.  W. 

Crothers,  Margaret  I. 

Culbertson,  Mary  K. 

Curragh,  J.  M. 
-Daniels,  Mrs.  S.  B. 

Davidson,  Mrs.  Nannie  S. 

Davis,  Mrs.  Imogene. 

Davis,  J.  T. 

t  Davis,  Sadie. 

DeNure,  D.  D. 

Dixou,  Bessie. 

Dolliver,  Clara  G. 

Dooner,  John. 

Doyle,  Irene. 

Doyle,  Mrs.  James  A. 
Cozier,  A,  W. 

Dozier,  Melville. 

Drake,  Charles  M. 

Drake,  Elmer. 

DuBois,  John  B. 

Dunbar,  Annie  S. 

Duiibar,  S.  G.  S. 

Dwyer,  James  W. 

Edwards,  W.  H. 

Elliott,  Ella  J. 

Elliott,  Mary  E. 

Ellis,  Mary  0. 

Estabrook,  Mary  A.  H. 

Evans,  Ellen  A. 

Evans,  Ellen  G. 

Fail-child,  Hattie  M. 

Fallon,  Joseph  K. 

Feller,  Lorenzo. 

Fenton,  H.  W. 

Fisk,  Juliet  A. 

Flint,  Almira  T. 


Floyd,  Enos  F. 
Folger,  H.  C. 
Fonda,  Charles  E. 
Foss,  B.  R. 
Foss,  Wm.  F.  F. 
Foster,  Mrs.  Julia. 
Fowler,  B.  F. 
Fox,  John. 
Frissell,  Sarah  E. 
Furlong,  Robert. 
Gabriel,  Mrs.  C.  E. 
Garlick,  J.  P. 
Garrison,  Gazena  A. 
Geer,  Emily  F. 
Geis,  S.  W. 
Germain,  Clara. 
Goepp,  G. 
Godfrey,  G.  K. 
Gordon,  Wellington. 
Gould,  M.  J. 
Granger,  F.  C. 
Grant,  E. 
Gray,  Annie  L. 
Greer,  C.  E. 
Guun,  E.  L. 
Gunn,  Sarah  W. 
Guthrie,  N.  L. 
Goodcell,  Henry,  Jr. 
Garin,  Paul  A. 
Greer,  Mary  D. 
Haislip,  Benjamin  F. 
Hall,  Annie  J. 
Hall,  F.  M. 
Hall,  Maggie  J. 
Ham,  Charles  H. 
Hayburn,  Annie  T. 
Hamilton,  Hiram  M. 
Hamilton,  Rev.  Hiram. 
Hamilton,  Mrs.  W.  H.  H. 
Hamilton,  James  T. 
Hamill,  Amelia. 
Harkness,  Margaret. 
Hartmeyer,  Mrs.  S.  L. 
Harvey,  Oliver  T. 
Havens,  Carrie. 
Hawks,  Carrie  M. 
Hawkins,  J.  0. 
Hazen,  J.  P. 
Heckman,  H.  H. 
Henning,  Irving  P. 
Hewett,  Roscoe. 
Hiatt,  Pleasant. 
Higby,  H.  C. 
Hiuton,  J.  M. 
Hoffman,  Mrs.  Mary  L. 


196 


HOLDEKS  OF  STATE  EDUCATIONAL  DIPLOMAS. 


Horton,  Geo.  Wallace. 
Holbrook,  Edw. 
Holmes,  M.  D, 
Howard,  Emma. 
Howe,  Converse. 
Howe,  E.  P. 
Howell,  S.  S. 
Hubbell,  S.  C. 
Hughes,  A.  B. 
Humphreys,  L.  A. 
Humphreys,  M.  A. 
-Hunt,  B.  E. 
Huntsinger,  Mrs.  Jennie. 
*Ingraham,  Mrs.  E.  F. 
Jacks,  Fannie. 
Jamison,  J.  H.  S. 
Janes,  Emma. 
Jaycoax,  Mrs.  A.  S. 
Jenks,  David  W. 
Jewett,  Annie  S. 
Jewett,  Fidelia. 
Johnson,  G.  N. 
Johnson,  G.  W. 
Johnson,  Joseph  "W. 
Jones,  Addison. 
Jordon,  John  F. 
Jordan,  Maggie  L. 
Kane,  Eichard. 
Keegan,  Mary  A. 
Kellogg,  M.  D. 
Kelso,  John  E. 
Kelton,  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Kendall,  Sylvia  A. 
Kennedy,  J.  F. 
Kenniston,  Chas.  M. 
Kerr,  Theodore  T. 
Kimball,  C.  A. 
King,  Charles  E. 
King,  E.  M. 
Kingman,  Mrs.  M.  V. 
Kinkade,  Letitia. 
Klink,  John  F. 
Knighton,  William  A. 
Knowlton,  E.  L. 
Kottinger,  H.  M. 
Kratzer,  Leila. 
Lafferty,  I.  N. 
Lambert,  Daniel. 
Lander,  F.  L. 
Langan,  George. 
Laurie,  B.  M. 
Law,  John  K. 
Leach,  Miss  Mira. 
Libby,  Mrs.  Joseph  S. 
Lighte,  Pauline  S. 
Lillie,  Sarah  P. 
Lippowitz,  Max. 
Little,  Mary. 
Loag,  Emily  T. 
Lloyd,  Mary  A. 
Loofbourrow,  Elias. 
Lovett,  Charles  E . 
Lynch,  Miss  Tillie  S. 
Lynch,  W.  F.  B. 
Lyser,  Albert. 


Magoon,  Win.  H. 
Martin,  A. 
Martin,  E.  J. 
Martin,  James  M. 
Marvin,  A. 
Mathews,  Mrs.  M.  E. 
Me  Arthur,  Annie. 
McCarty,  Thomas. 
McColgau,  Kate  F. 
McCormack,  Harriet  T. 
McDonald,  Mrs.  N.  E. 
McDonald,  W.  P. 
McDonald,  Kate. 
McDonald,  J.  J. 
McDonall,  Mrs.  J. 
McEwen,  John. 
McFadden,  John. 
McGowan,  Patrick  H. 
McHugh,  Peter. 
McKean,  Lottie. 
McKusick,  H.  P. 
McManus,  A.  C. 
McPhee,  V.  J. 
McEeynolds,  Jos. 
Mea,  John  F. 
tMeagher,  John  F. 
Merrill,  Ida  M. 
Merritt,  Julia  E. 
Metzger,  C.  L. 
•Michener,  Mrs.  M,  E. 
Middleton,  A.  W. 
Middleton,  Mrs.  Eliza  F. 
Miles,  Mrs.  E.  S. 
Miller,  John. 
Miller,  Lafayette. 
Miller,  N.  J. 
Miller,  John  H. 
Milliken,  Mrs.  E.  A. 
Miuta,  Wesley. 
Mitchell,  Fannie. 
Mondram,  F.  V.  C. 
Montgomery,  A.  S. 
Moore,  Mrs.  B.  F. 
Morford,  N.  A. 
Morgan,  Eichard. 
Morgan,  Eose  E. 
Mullens,  H. 
Mumford,  Mrs.  M.  E. 
Murnan,  John  T. 
Murphy,  Mary. 
Norman,  L.  F. 
Norvell,  Jos.  A. 
Neill,  M.  A.  O. 
O'Connor,  Maria. 
O'Laughlen,  Mrs.  Nellie. 
Oliver,  A.  W. 
Oliver,  Mrs.  C.  F. 
Oliver,  J.  C. 
Ormstrong,  Flora  S. 
Otis,  C.  W. 
Overend,  E. 
Owen,  Georgie. 
Owens,  Nellie  M. 
Page,  Lizzie. 
Palmer,  E.  M. 


Parker,  Flora  A. 
Parker,  James  L. 
Peachy,  Thomas  G. 
Peadry,  Frank  A. 
Pearce,  Carrie. 
Peck,  A.  W. 
Pedler,  F.  A. 
Pendegast,  H.  B. 
*Penwell,  Mrs.  L.  M. 
Pitcher,  Charlotte  M. 
Powell,  David. 
Powell,  Elizabeth. 
Powers,  Talbot  P. 
Prag,  Mary 
Pratt,  Mary  E. 
Price,  Harrison. 
Putnam,  J .  E. 
Eay,  J.  H. 
Eayl,  Mrs.  Martha. 
Eeavis,  Walter  Scott. 
Eedway,  Jacques  W. 
Eenfro,  Lewis  C. 
Eice,  L. 
liighter,  F.  M. 
Eoberts,  Lizzie. 
Eobertson,  William  A. 
Eobertson,  George  B. 
Eobinson,  Mrs.  M.  S.  P. 
Eogers,  Arthur. 
Eogers,  James. 
Roper,  J.  W. 
Eoyall,  J.  P. 
Eoyce,  Ella  J. 
Eyan,  Amanda. 
Eyder,  L.  E. 
Saukey,  Mrs.  Mary  J. 
Sauuders,  Samuel. 
Saxon,  T.  A. 
Sears,  Marion. 
Seawell,  J.  H. 
Shaw,  Annie  J. 
Shearer,  Mrs.  C.  C. 
Sherman,  E.  B. 
Sherman,  Ella  Imogene. 
Sherman,  M.  F. 
Sexton,  Mrs.  Ella  M. 
Sickal,  M.  T. 
Sill,  Prof.  E.  E. 
Sinex,  Eev.  J.  H. 
Slack,  Clay  H. 
Smith,  James  D. 
Smith,  Ansell. 
Smith,  Grace. 
Smith,  James  D. 
Sollinger,  J.  A. 
Soule,  Maria  L. 
Southeimer,  Jno.  J. 
Spring,  Mrs.  Fannie. 
Squires,  W.  E. 
Standish,  H.  M. 
Standeford,  N.  D. 
Stegman,  Mattie  A. 
Stevenson,  Helen  E. 
Stincen,  Emma  E.  C. 
Stoddard,  C.  W. 


NOTES  OF  PBOMINENT  TEACHERS.  197 

Stone,  W.  W.  Vestal,  F.  A.  White,  Mrs.  Sara. 

Stowell,  F.  A.  Walbridge,  Jennie  M.  White,  A.  F. 

-Sturges  S.  Waldron,  S.  A.  Whitmore,  Ella  L. 

Swain,  Orlando  E.  Walker,  Alice  Wicks,  John  T. 

Swan,  Amanda.  Walker,  Charles  H.  Wideman,  James 

Taylor,  Mrs.  H.  P  Wallace,  Alma  Wilson,  H.  C. 

Thomas,  J.  R.  Wallace,  W.  B.  Wood,  Jessie. 

Thompson,  Louisa  Walter,  Emelyn.  Wood,  Mrs.  N.  A. 

Thompson,  J.  N.  tWanzer,  Mrs.  L.  M.  F.  Woodward,Mrs.N.Zoraida. 

Tillotson,  Henry  Ira  Ward,  Mary  A.  Wooll,  Hattie. 

Todd,  H.  J.  Webb,  Sallie  B.  Wozencraft,  W.  Jl. 

Towle,  Mrs.  Lizzie  B.  Weeks,  M.  D.  Wright,  Mrs.  E. 

Towle,  S.  G.  Wells,  Addie  H.  Wright,  J.  M. 

Trout,  Daniel  H.  Wells,  Jos.  H.  Wythe,  Sarah  J. 

True,  Charles  F.  Wenk,  Robert  E.  Yates,  Lizzie. 

Turner,  H.  F.  Westbay,  L.  M.  Young,  Nestor  A. 

Underwood,  J.  G.  Weston,  Ada.  Yule,  John. 

Van  Dorn,  V.  J.  Wheelock,  Mrs.  D.  R.     -    Zimmerman,  William. 

Van  Schaick,  Mrs.  Mary  A.White,  Emmons.  Tyrus,  Mary  A. 


IX.    NOTES  OF  PROMINENT  TEACHERS. 


D.  C.  Stone  taught  in  Marysville,  from  1854  to  '68,  and  organ 
ized  there  one  of  the  best  schools  in  the  State.  In  1868,  he 
removed  to  Oakland,  and  established  a  "Family  School."  In 
1873,  he  was  appointed  teacher  of  natural  sciences  in  the  San 
Francisco  Girls'  High  School,  and,  in  1876,  was  made  Deputy 
City  Superintendent. 

J.  B.  McChesney  began  teaching  at  Forbestown,  1857,  but 
soon  removed  to  Nevada  City,  where  he  organized  first  a 
Grammar  School  and  then  a  High  School.  In  1865,  he  was 
made  Principal  of  the  Oakland  High  School,  where  he  is  still 
teaching. 

^Freeman  Gates  was  a  pioneer  in  the  schools  of  San  Jose, 
and  afterwards  County  Superintendent.  He  subsequently 
founded  the  San  Jose  Institute. 

Joseph  Leggett  founded  the  Grass  Valley  High  School,  with 
brilliant  success;  studied  law;  removed  to  San  Francisco;  was 
made  Examining  Teacher,  in  1872;  Deputy  City  Superintendent, 
1874  and  1875;  and  a  lawyer  in  1876. 

Melville  Cottle  was  a  pioneer  teacher  in  Stockton,  and  was 
four  years  County  Superintendent  of  San  Joaquin  County. 

Isaac  Upham  taught  in  Butte  County  for  several  years  ; 
organized  a  fine  school  at  Oroville,  and  was  subsequently  an 


198  NOTES  OF  PROMINENT  TEACHERS. 

able  County  Superintendent  of  Butte  County  and  of  Yuba 
County. 

George  H.  Peck  taught  the  first  Public  School  in  Sacra 
mento,  1854;  taught  in  San  Francisco,  from  1860  to  1865;  and 
was  County  Superintendent  of  Los  Angeles,  in  1874-75. 

*  Augustus  Morse,  Jr.,  was  a  teacher  at  Martinez;  afterwards 
Principal  of  the  Grass  Valley  High  School,  and  then  County 
Superintendent  of  Nevada  County. 

A.  H.  Randall  organized  the  Stockton  High  School,  which 
he  has  made  one  of  the  most  thorough  in  the  State. 

A.  H.  Goodrich  was  a  pioneer  teacher  in  Placer  County, 
where  he  held  the  office  of  County  Superintendent  for  four 
years,  and  where  he  is  still  teaching. 

George  W.  Simonton  taught  for  many  years  at  Vallejo,  and 
was  for  four  years  County  Superintendent  of  Solano  County. 

Dr.  E.  J.  Schellhouse  has  taught  for  twenty  years  in  various 
counties  in  the  State,  and  is  well  known  as  an  enthusiastic 
lecturer. 

Dr.  T.  H.  Hose  taught  several  years  at  Benicia,  made  a  fine 
Grammar  School  at  Los  Angeles,  and  organized  a  High 
School. 

J.  M.  Sibley,  in  1854,  founded  the  Folsom  Grammar  School, 
in  which  he  taught  for  ten  years.  He  subsequently  taught  at 
Oakland  and  Sonoma,  and  for  the  last  ten  years  has  been  teach 
ing  in  the  San  Francisco  Boys'  High  School. 

A.  H.  McDonald,  Principal  of  the  Sacramento  Grammar 
School,  has  taught  for  many  years  in  various  parts  of  the 
State. 

F.  M.  Campbell  began  teaching  near  Vallejo;  was  for  several 
years  a  popular  teacher  in  the  Bray  ton  College  School,  and  for 
six  years  has  been  the  efficient  City  Superintendent  of  the 
Oakland  Schools. 

George  W.  Bonnell  was  Principal  of  the  Spring  Valley 
School,  San  Francisco;  was  afterwards  Principal  of  San  Fran 
cisco  Latin  School;  and  is  now  Professor  of  Latin  and  Greek 
in  the  State  University. 

Professor  Martin  Kellogg  was  for  several  years  Professor  of 
Ancient  Languages  in  the  College  of  California,  and  has  been 
from  the  beginning  a  Professor  in  the  State  University;  he 
contributed  some  valuable  articles  to  the  California  Teacher, 
and  has  frequently  lectured  at  State  institutes.  J>t£A  t 


NOTES  OF  PROMINENT  TEACHERS.  199 

W.  C.  Dodge,  who  began  teaching  in  the  State  in  1854,  has 
taught  for  many  years  in  Alameda  County. 

M.  L.  Templeton  was  Principal  of  the  Sacramento  High 
School,  and  afterwards  of  the  Woodland  Grammar  School,  in 
both  of  which  he  was  eminently  successful. 

B.  J.  Watson  was  for  many  years  a  prominent  teacher  in 
Nevada  County,  where  he  became  County  Superintendent. 

Alfred  Thurber  founded  the  Pacheco  School,  and  has  been 
for  six  years  County  Superintendent  of  Contra  Costa. 

Sparrow  Smith  was  for  many  years  a  teacher  in  Sacramento 
County,  and  also  County  Superintendent. 

George  K.  Godfrey  was  a  pioneer  in  the  northern  counties 
of  the  State.  He  has  served  twelve  years  as  County  Superin 
tendent  in  Shasta  and  Sisldyou  Counties. 

C.  W.  Childs  was  for  several  years  a  teacher  in  El  Dorado 
County;  he  is  now  Principal  of  the  Suisun  School,  and  County 
Superintendent  of  Solano  County. 

H.  T.  Batchelder  has  been  a  leading  teacher  in  Butte  County 
for  many  years,  and  also  a  County  Superintendent. 

John  Bagnall  was  for  many  years  a  teacher  in  various  of  the 
central  counties,  and  was  one  term  County  Superintendent  of 
Alpine  County.  He  has  been  for  several  years  in  San  Fran 
cisco,  noted  for  his  success  as  a  teacher  in  the  evening  school. 
Under  disabilities,  which  would  have  discouraged  most  men, 
he  has  done  vastly  more  in  education  than  hundreds  of  other 
teachers  who  walk  without  crutches. 

Azro  L.  Mann  taught  for  several  years  at  Marysville,  but 
has  gained  his  reputation  chiefly  by  his  success  as  head  of 
the  classical  department  of  the  San  Francisco  Boys'  High 
School. 

Mrs.  Maria  McGilvray,  twenty-two  years  a  teacher  in 
various  parts  of  the  State,  is  still  a  vigorous  and  capable 
worker. 

Mrs.  J.  H.  Nevins  has  been  twenty-three  years  a  teacher  in 
the  State,  thirteen  of  which  have  been  in  San  Francisco. 

James  Stratton  began  teaching  in  the  State  in  1853;  was 
several  years  Principal  of  the  Washington  School,  San 
Francisco,  and  is  now  Principal  of  a  Grammar  School,  in 
Oakland. 

Miss  Mary  A.   Hoyt  taught  the  first  Grammar  School  in 


200  STATE  EDUCATIONAL  SOCIETY. 

Los  Angeles,    where   she   was    for    many  years  a  successful 
educator. 

Percival  C.  Millette,  a  pioneer,  was  County  Superintendent 
of  Placer  County  in  1857,  and  has  taught  ever  since  in  number 
less  county  schools. 


X.    STATE  EDUCATIONAL  SOCIETY. 


In  his  circular  calling  the  State  Teachers'  Institute  of  1863, 
Superintendent  vSwett  thus  alluded  to  the  importance  of  a  State 
Society : 

Educational  conventions,  in  every  part  of  our  country,  express  a 
general  desire  for  a  distinct  and  definite  recognition  of  the  occupa 
tion  of  teaching  by  forms  equivalent  to  those  now  existing  in  law, 
medicine,  and  theology.  It  is  true,  there  are  many  who  make  teach 
ing  a  temporary  occupation,  a  stepping-stone  to  other  pursuits,  and 
there  is  no  objection  to  this  when  they  are  duly  qualified  for  the 
noblest  of  human  duties;  but  there  is  a  large  class,  becoming  larger 
every  year,  who  desire  to  make  it  the  occupation  of  a  life — an  occu 
pation  which  calls  for  a  range  of  acquirements  and  a  height  of  quali 
fications  fully  equal  to  that  of  the  liberal  professions. 

Why  should  not  the  pioneer  teachers  of  this  State,  in  the  next  In 
stitute,  take  similar  measures  of  self-organization,  self -recognition, 
and  self-examination,  and  raise  themselves  above  the  humiliating 
necessity  of  submitting  to  an  examination  by  members  of  other  pro 
fessions,  or  of  no  professions  at  all  ?  A  State  Educational  Society 
could  be  organized  by  those  who  shall  pass  the  next  examination  by 
the  State  Board,  those  who  hold  diplomas  of  graduation  from 
normal  schools,  and  the  Professors  in  the  various  colleges  and  col 
legiate  schools  of  the  State.  This  society  could  become  legally 
incorporated  at  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  and  other  mem 
bers  could  be  admitted  from  time  to  time,  by  passing  a  regular 
examination,  and  receiving  diplomas.  Such  certificates  would  soon 
be  gladly  recognized  by  unprofessional  examiners — many  of  whom, 
though  men  of  education,  feel  that  they  are  not  duly  qualified  to  sit 
in  judgment  on  the  competency  of  teachers  for  their  peculiar  work 
— as  the  best  possible  assurance  of  fitness  to  teach.  And  teachers 
may  rest  assured  that  legislative  enactments  would  soon  follow, 
making  such  diplomas  prima  facie  evidence  of  ability  to  teach  in  any 
part  of  the  State,  without  further  examination. 

Some  such  steps  we  are  called  upon  to  take  by  the  large  number 
of  accomplished  men  and  women  who  are  entering  on  our  vocation. 
We  are  called  upon  to  act,  not  only  in  justice  to  scholarship  and 
talent,  but  in  self-defense  against  impostors  and  pretenders;  and  we 


«  K  A  R 


STATE   EDUCATIONAL   SOCIETY,  201 

may  honestly  avow  a  desire  to  exclude  all  who  unworthily  or  unfitly 
intrude  themselves  into  the  noble  office  of  teaching. 

A  State  Society  would  unite  the  teachers  of  our  State  in  the  bonds 
of  fraternal  sympathy;  a  certificate  of  membership  would  entitle  the 
holder  to  the  aid  of  members  in  all  parts  of  the  State;  it  would  be  a 
passport  of  employment  when  he  should  change  his  residence;  it 
would  entitle  him  to  the  substantial  benefits  of  an  honorable  recep 
tion  among  all  teachers;  and  a  small  annual  membership  fee  would 
soon  constitute  a  fund  for  the  establishment  of  a  teacher's  journal, 
as  the  organ  of  the  society. 

The  subject  of  a  State  professional  society  being  brought 
before  the  Institute,  the  plan  was  advocated  by  John  E.  Ben- 
ton,  Theodore  Bradley,  and  others. 

A  committee  was  appointed  with  Mr.  Bradley,  Chairman,  who 
made  a  report,  and  requested  all  interested  in  forming  such  a 
society  to  meet  after  the  final  adjournment  of  the  Institute. 

A  State  Educational  Society  was  soon  afterwards  formed  on  the 
plan  recommended,  with  the  following  constitution: 

PREAMBLE. 

"We,  as  teachers  of  California,  in  order  to  further  the  educational 
interests  of  the  State,  to  give  efficiency  to  our  school  system,  to 
furnish  a  practical  basis  for  united  action  among  those  de 
voted  to  the  cause  in  which  we  are  engaged,  and  for  those  pur 
poses  to  elevate  the  office  of  teacher  to  its  true  rank  among  the 
professions,  do  hereby  adopt  the  following 

CONSTITUTION. 

NAME. 

SECTION  1.  This  organization  shall  be  known  as  the  "California 
Educational  Society." 

SEC.  2.  All  holders  of  State  Life  Diplomas,  or  State  Educational 
Diplomas,  shall  be  eligible  to  membership  on  the  recommendation 
of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  -the  payment,  in  advance,  of  an 
admission  fee  of  five  dollars. 

SEC.  3.  Any  member  may  be  expelled  for  unprofessional  conduct 
by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  members  present  at  any  regular  meeting; 
provided,  that  a  copy  of  the  charges  be  deposited  with  the  Record 
ing  Secretary  at  least  four  weeks  before  the  meeting  at  which  the 
charges  are  acted  upon,  and  immediate  notice  thereof  be  given  to 
the  accused. 

The  society  assumed  the  publication  of  the  California  Teacher, 
and  elected  annually  a  Board  of  Editors,  until  1873,  when  the 
control  of  the  journal  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  State  Super 
intendent. 

13 


202 


MEMBERS   OF   THE   STATE   EDUCATIONAL   SOCIETY. 


LIST  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  STATE  EDUCATIONAL  SOCIETY. 


[NOTE. — The  names  of  deceased  members  are  marked  *;  of  those  retired  from 
the  profession  t .  "j 


Anderson,  J.  W. 
Anderson,  Mrs.  A.  B. 
Atwoocl,  Mrs.  C.  L. 
Austin,  Miss  M.  F. 
Allen,  L.  D. 
Adams,  J.  G. 
-Bradley,  Theodore. 
Bagnall,  John. 
Bolander,  Henry  N. 
Brown,  George, 
t  Brown,  F.  It. 
Braly,  J.  H. 
Brodt,  A.  AV. 
t  Baker,  G.  F. 
Beanston,  George. 
Bennette,  Fannie  E. 
Barre,  Miss  S.  A. 
Bragg,  Mary  J. 
Baldwin,  Nellie. 
•f  Brown,  Louisa. 
tCottle,  Melville. 
Cleveland,  Miss  E.  A. 
Cook,  Hannah. 
Denman,  James. 
*Deal,  M.  S. 
Dubois,  Mrs.  A.  E. 
Deane,  Mrs.  Margaret. 
Dolliver,  Clara  J. 
Doud,  Nettie. 
Deetken.  Mrs.  L.  G. 
t  Fitzgerald,  0.  P. 
t  Flood,  NoahF. 
Fuller,  A.L. 
Finch,  J.  B. 
Farley,  A.  J. 
Fenton,  H.  W. 
Fitzgerald,  A.  L. 
Fink,  Miss  A.  P. 
Field,  Miss  C.  P. 


-  Fowler,  Laura  S. 

Goodrich,  S.  H. 

tHolmes,  Ahira. 

t  Holmes,  Ellis  H. 

Humphrey,  E.  D. 

Higbie,  Alfred. 

tHnntley,  0.  H. 

tHoitt,  Ira  G. 

Howe,  Converse. 
-    Hunt,  Carrie  L. 

Hucks,  Annie. 

Johns,  Chas.  T. 

Kellogg,  Martin. 

Knowlton,  Ebenezer. 

Kennedy,  W.  W. 

Kennedy,  J.  G. 

Kennedy,  Kate. 

Kincaid,  Mary  W. 

t  Leonard,  T.  C. 

tLouttit,  J.  A. 

Lyser.  Albert. 

Levison,  Kosa. 

Myrick,  Thos.  S. 

t  Marks,  Bernhard. 

McGlynn,  A.  E. 

Makinney,  H.  E. 

*Morris,  Geo.  F. 

McChesnej',  J.  B. 

tMcBride,  H.  E. 

Moore,  John  A. 

Nutting,  H.  N. 

Nicholson,  Thomas. 

O'Connor,  Joseph. 

Peck,  Geo.  H. 

tPelton,  John  C. 

Preston,  E.  M. 

tPenwell,  S.  A. 

Prior,  Philip. 

Pascoe,  Mary. 


t  Parker,  Jean. 
Prescott,  Miss  D.  S. 
tPtowell,  W.  K. 
Kandall,  Ambrose  H. 
Kousseau,  E. 
Rattan,  Volney. 
tSwezey,  S.  I.  C. 
Stratton,  James. 
Swett,  John. 
Smith,  Sparrow  A. 
Stone,  D.  C. 
Sibley,  J.  M. 
Schelihouse,  E.  J. 
Scott,  M.  M. 
Smith,  Jessie. 
Smith,  Jennie. 
S  to  well,  Miss  M.  E. 
Stowell,  Miss  P.  M. 
Slaven,  Miss  A.  E. 
Sullivan,  Kate. 
Surnner,  J.  H. 
Stone,  W.  W. 
Smith,  J.D. 
Shaw,  Miss  E.  A. 
tTait,  George. 
*Townsend,  Dennis. 
Templeton,  M.  L. 
Thurston,  E.  T. 
Thompson,  Helen. 
True,  Chas.  F. 
Upham,  Isaac. 
White,  Silas  A. 
White,  William. 
Winn,  A.  T. 
Williams,  W.  J.  G. 
Warren,  R.  B. 
Wermouth,  Hamilton. 
Wade,  Margaret. 
Zimmerman,  Wm. 


PRESIDENTS    OF    THE    STATE    EDUCATIONAL    SOCIETY. 


1.  John  Swett. 

2.  George  W.  Minns. 

3.  Theodore  Bradley. 


4.  James  Denman. 

5.  D.  C.  Stone. 

6.  Bernhard  Marks. 


7.  John  Swett. 

8.  E.  H.  Holmes. 

9.  J.  W.  Anderson. 


SECRETARIES. 


1.  Bernhard  Marks. 

2.  Silas  A.  White. 


3.  Mrs.  C.  L.  Atwood. 

4.  Mrs.  Aurelia  Griffith. 


STATE   SERIES   OF   TEXT-BOOKS.  203 


XI.    STATE  SERIES  OF  TEXT-BOOKS. 


In  1864,  the  State  Board  of  Education,  consisting  of  Gov 
ernor  Stanford,  Surveyor-General  Hougliton,  and  State  Super 
intendent  'Swett,  met  and  adopted  a  State  series  of  text-books, 
taking  the  series  recommended  by  vote  of  the  State  Teachers' 
Institute  that  met  in  San  Francisco,  May  7-10,  1863. 

BOOKS  ADOPTED. 

Eaton's  Series  of  Arithmetics;  Quackenbos's  English  Grammar; 

Cornell's  Primary  Geography;  Willson's  Series  of  Readers; 

Warren's  Intermediate  Geography;  Willson's  Speller; 

"Greene's  Introductory  Grammar;  Quackenbos's  History  of  the  U.  S. 

In  1866,  the  Board,  reorganized  under  the  Kevised  School 
Law,  Governor  Low,  Chairman,  met  and  readopted,  for  a 
term  of  four  years,  the  list  of  1864,  with  the  exception  of  the 
geographies  and  Quackenbos's  Grammars,  which  were  indefi 
nitely  continued,  but  not  readopted  for  four  years.  Clarke's 
Geography  was  also  added  to  the  list  of  geographies,  and  the 
Spencerian  and  Payson,  Dunton  &  Scribner's  Penmanship  were 
continued  in  use. 

In  1869,  the  Board,  Governor  Haight,  Chairman,  Superin 
tendent  Fitzgerald,  Secretary,  adopted  Monteith's  Series  of 
Geographies,  in  place  of  Cornell's,  Warren's  and  Clarke's,  and 
Brown's  Grammars,  in  place  of  Greene's  and  Quackenbos's — the 
change  to  take  effect  July,  1870. 

In  1870,  July  12-13,  the  State  Board  met,  and,  under  the  re- 
enacted  California  School  Law,  adopted  the  following 

STATE  SERIES. 

McGuffey's  Series  of  Header? ;  Willson's  Spellers; 

Robinson's  Series  of  Arithmetics;  Cutter's  Physiologies; 

Monteith's  Series  of  Geographies;  Paysoii  and  Dunton's  Penmanship. 
Brown's  Series  of  Grammars; 

A  year  later,  the  Board  added  to  this  list  Swinton's  Con 
densed  History  of  the  United  States,  and  Swinton's  Word- 
Analysis. 

In  1874,  June  22d,  in  compliance  with  a  new  section  of  the 
School  Law,  the  Board  passed  a  resolution  inviting  publishers 


204  STATE   SERIES   OF   TEXT-BOOKS. 

to  lay  before  them,  on  or  before  January  5th,  1875,  proposals 
for  supplying  text-books  for  use  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
State. 

January  5th,  1875,  the  Board  met — Governor  Booth  in  the 
chair,  and  Superintendent  Bolander,  Secretary — considered  the 
proposals  received,  and  adopted  the  Pacific  Coast  Headers,  in 
place  of  McGuffey's;  Cornell's  Geographies,  in  place  of  Moii- 
teith's;  Spencerian  Penmanship,  in  place  of  Payson,  Dunton  &• 
Scribner's;  and  readopted  Robinson's  Arithmetics  and  Cutter's. 
First  Book  in  Anatomy,  Physiology,  and  Hygiene.  The  Board 
also  recommended  Swinton's  Language  Series  for  teachers  and 
school  libraries. 

On  February  3d,  1876,  a  writ  of  certiorari  was  issued  by  the 
Sixth  District  Court,  Sacramento,  Judge  Ramage,  against  the 
introduction  of  the  new  Readers.  The  case  was  carried  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  which,  on  April  19th,  1875,  declared  the  action 
of  the  Board,  in  adopting  the  Pacific  Coast  Readers,  null  and 
void,  on  the  ground  that  the  record  did  not  show  that  six 
months'  notice  of  a  proposed  change  in  Readers  had  been  given, 
as  required  by  law. 

On  June  1st,  the  Board  again  met,  and  advertised  for  pro 
posals  for  all  the  books,  it  being  considered  that  the  ruling  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  on  Readers,  applied  to  all  the  books 
adopted  at  their  former  meeting. 

Dec.  5th,  1875,  the  Board  again  met,  pursuant  to  advertise 
ment,  to  adopt  text-books,  but  were  enjoined  by  Judge  Bray- 
nard,  County  Judge  of  Tehama  County,  and  Judge  Reardon,, 
District  Judge  of  the  Fourteenth  District,  "from  receiving, 
opening,  or  acting  in  any  manner  upon  proposals  for  supplying 
Readers  and  Geographies,  or  taking  any  action  whereby  any 
Readers  other  than  McGuffey's,  or  any  Geographies  other  than 
Monteith's,  may  be  used  in  the  public  schools  of  this  State." 
The  Board  being  still  free  to  act  upon  all  other  books,  adopted 
Robinson's  Arithmetic,  Swinton's  Word  Analysis,  Spencerian 
Penmanship,  Smith's  Drawing,  Mason's  Music  Reader's,  and 
Cutter's  First  Book  in  Anatomy,  Physiology,  and  Hygiene. 

In  the  case  of  Readers  and  Geographies,  the  Board  post 
poned  action  to  Dec.  28th,  the  hearing  of  the  injunctions  being 
set  respectively  for  Dec.  15th  and  Dec.  22d.  Meanwhile,  a  bill 
was  introduced  into  the  Legislature,  Dec.  9th,  that  the  text- 


EDUCATION   OF   COLOEED   CHILDREN.  205 

l}Ooks  in  use  in  1873-4-5,  be  continued  in  use  in  all  the  public 
schools  of  the  State,  until  otherwise  provided  by  statute. 
This  bill  became  a  law  on  Dec.  13th,  when  the  injunction  suits 
were  at  once  dismissed. 

As  the  case  now  stands,  the  old  list  of  books  throughout 
remains  in  the  schools,  and  all  power  of  changing  is  vested  in 
the  State  Legislature. 


XII.    EDUCATION  OF  COLORED  CHILDREN. 


The  Legislature  of  1860  passed  a  law  prohibiting  colored 
(Negro  and  Mongolian)  children  from  being  admitted  to 
schools  for  white  children,  under  penalty  of  forfeiting  all 
public  moneys. 

Previous  to  this,  colored  children  were  prohibited  from 
attending  schools  for  white  children, 'but  there  was  no  penalty. 
The  law  had  allowed  trustees  to  establish  separate  schools  for 
colored  children,  but  had  not  required  it. 

The  first  legal  recognition  of  the  rights  of  colored  children  is 
found  in  the  Kevised  School  Law,  1866 : 

SEC.  57.  Children  of  African  or  Mongolian  descent,  and  Indian 
-children,  not  living  under  the  care  of  white  persons,  shall  not  be 
admitted  into  the  public  schools,  except  as  provided  in  this  act; 
provided,  that,  upon  the  written  application  of  the  parents  or  guar 
dians  of  at  least  ten  such  children,  to  any  Board  of  Trustees,  or 
Board  of  Education,  a  separate  school  shall  be  established  for  their 
education,  and  the  education  of  a  less  number  may  be  provided  for 
by  the  trustees  in  any  other  manner. 

SEC.  58.  When  there  shall  be  in  any  district  any  number  of  chil 
dren,  other  than  white  children,  whose  education  can  be  provided 
for  in  no  other  way,  the  trustees,  by  a  majority  vote,  may  permit 
such  children  to  attend  schools  for  white  children;  provided,  that  a 
majority  of  the  parents  of  the  children  attending  such  school  make 
no  objection  in  writing,  to  be  filed  with  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

SEC.  59.  The  same  laws,  rules,  and  regulations  which  apply  to 
schools  for  white  children  shall  apply  to  schools  for  colored 
children. 

Under  this  qualified  provision,  most  of  the  colored  children 
in  the  State  were  admitted  to  school  privileges,  though  in  a  few 
outlying  districts — notably  the  city  of  Oakland — they  were  ex- 


206  COUKSE  OF   STUDY  IN  DISTRICT  SCHOOLS. 

eluded  from  white  schools,  and  were  not   allowed  a  separate 
school. 

The  Legislature  of  1870  repealed  Section  58,  and  left  th& 
colored  question  as  follows : 

SEC.  56.  The  education  of  children  of  African  descent,  and  Indian* 
children,  shall  be  provided  for  in  separate  schools.  Upon  the 
written  application  of  the  parents  or  guardians  of  at  least  ten  such 
children,  to  any  Board  of  Trustees  or  Board  of  Education,  a  separate 
school  shall  be  established  for  the  education  of  such  children;  and 
the  education  of  a  less  number  may  be  provided  for  by  the  trustees,, 
in  separate  schools,  in  any  other  manner. 

In  1872,  the  Code  Commissioners  modified  the  law,  under 
a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  Legislature  adopted 
it  as  follows : 

SEC.  1669.  The  education  of  children  of  African  descent,  and 
Indian  children,  must  be  provided  for  in  separate  schools;  provided,. 
that  if  the  directors  or  trustees  fail  to  provide  such  separate  schools, 
then  such  children  must  be  admitted  into  the  schools  for  white 
children. 

In  1872,  the  Board  of  Education  of  Oakland  admitted  their 
eight  colored  children  into  the  schools;  and,  in  1875,  the  San 
Francisco  Board  abolished  the  separate  school  of  seventy-five 
colored  children,  and  admitted  the  pupils  to  the  white  schools. 


XIII.    COURSE  OF  STUDY  IN  DISTRICT  SCHOOLS. 

The  School  Law  of  1863-4  specified  the  studies  to  be  pursued 
in  the  schools  as  follows :  Arithmetic,  Geography,  Grammar, 
Beading,  Writing,  Spelling,  History  of  the  United  States, 
Physiology,  and  such  other  studies  as  trustees  might  deem 
advisable. 

The  first  "Course  of  Study  for  District  Schools  "  was  pre 
pared  by  Superintendent  Swett,  and  adopted  by  the  State 
Board,  June  8,  1866.  At  the  same  meeting,  rules  and  regula 
tions  were  also  adopted. 

This  "  Course  of  Study"  was  revised  by  the  State  Board  in 
1870,  and  again  revihed  by  Superintendent  Bolander,  and 
adopted  by  the  Board  in  1872. 


COURSE   OF   STUDY   IN  DISTRICT   SCHOOLS.  207 

In  1872,  Drawing  and  Music  were  added  to  the  list  of  regular 
school  studies. 

RULES  AND  REGULATIONS,  1866. 

SECTION  1.  Teachers  are  required  to  be  present  at  their  respective 
schoolrooms,  and  to  open  them  for  the  admission  of  pupils  at  fifteen 
minutes  before  the  time  prescribed  for  commencing  school,  and  to 
punctually  observe  the  hours  for  opening  and  closing  school. 

SEC.  2.  Unless  otherwise  provided  by  special  action  of  trustees, 
or  Boards  of  Education,  the  daily  school  sessions  shall  commence  at 
nine  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  close  at  four  o'clock  P.  M.,  with  an  intermis 
sion  at  noon  of  one  hour,  from  twelve  M.  to  one  P.  M.  There  shall 
be  allowed  a  recess  of  twenty  minutes  in  the  forenoon  session,  from 
ten-forty  to  eleven  o'clock,  and  a  recess  of  twenty  minutes  in  the 
afternoon  session,  from  two-forty  to  three  o'clock.  When  boys  and 
girls  are  allowed  separate  recesses,  fifteen  minutes  shall  be  allowed 
for  each  recess. 

SEC.  3.  In  graded  primary  schools  in  which  the  average  age  of 
the  pupils  is  under  eight  years,  the  daily  sessions  shall  not  exceed 
four  hours  a  day,  inclusive  of  the  intermission  at  noon,  and  inclu 
sive  of  the  recesses.  If  such  schools  are  opened  at  nine  o'clock 
A.M.,  they  shall  be  closed  at  two  o'clock, P.M.  In  ungraded  schools, 
all  children  under  eight  years  of  age  shall  either  be  dismissed  after 
a  four  hours'  session,  or  allowed  recesses  for  play  of  such  length 
that  the  actual  confinement  in  the  schoolroom  shall  not  exceed  three 
hours  and  a  half. 

SEC.  4.  No  pupil  shall  be  detained  in  school  during  the  intermis 
sion  at  noon,  and  a  pupil  ^detained  at  any  recess  shall  be  permitted 
to  go  out  immediately  thereafter.  All  pupils,  except  those  detained 
for  punishment,  shall  be  required  to  pass  out  of  the  schoolrooms  at 
recess,  unless  it  would  occasion  an  exposure  of  health. 

SEC.  5.  Principals  shall  be  held  responsible  for  the  general  man 
agement  and  discipline  of  schools;  and  the  other  teachers  shall  fol 
low  their  directions  and  co-operate  with  them,  not  only  during  the 
school  hours,  but  during  the  time  when  the  pupils  are  on  the  school 
premises,  before  and  after  school,  and  during  recesses.  Assistants 
shall  be  held  responsible  for  the  order  and  discipline  of  their  own 
rooms,  under  the  general  direction  of  the  Principals. 

SEC.  6.  Teachers  are  particularly  enjoined  to  devote  their  time 
faithfully  to  a  vigilant  and  watchful  care  over  the  conduct  and  hab 
its  of  the  pupils  during  the  time  for  relaxation  and  play,  before  and 
after  school,  and  during  the  recesses,  both  in  the  school  buildings 
and  on  the  playgrounds. 

SEC.  7.  It  is  expected  that  teachers  will  exercise  a  general  inspec 
tion  over  the  conduct  of  scholars  going  to  and  returning  from  school. 
They  shall  exert  their  influence  to  prevent  all  quarreling  and  dis 
agreement,  all  rude  and  noisy  behavior  in  the  street,  all  vulgar  and 
profane  language,  all  improper  games,  and  all  disrespect  to  citizens 
and  strangers. 

SEC.  8.  Teachers  shall  prescribe  such  rules  for  the  use  of  the 
yards,  basements,  and  outbuildings  connected  with  the  schoolhouse, 
as  shall  insure  their  being  kept  in  a  neat  and  proper  condition,  and 


208  COURSE   OF   STUDY  IN  DISTRICT   SCHOOLS. 

shall  examine  them  as  often  as  may  be  necessary  for  such  purpose. 
Teachers  shall  be  held  responsible  for  any  want  of  neatness  or  clean 
liness  about  their  school  premises. 

SEC.  9.  Teachers  shall  give  vigilant  attention  to  the  ventilation  and 
temperature  of  their  schoolrooms.  At  each  recess  the  windows  and 
doors  shall  be  opened  for  the  purpose  of  changing  the  atmosphere  of 
the  room.  Teachers  are  cautioned  against  hot  fires  and  a  high 
temperature. 

SEC.  10.  Teachers  shall  enter  in  the  school  registers,  in  the  order 
of  their  application,  the  names  of  all  those  applying  for  admission 
to  the  school,  after  the  prescribed  number  of  pupils  have  been 
received.  Such  applicants  shall  be  admitted  to  seats  whenever  a 
vacancy  occurs  in  any  class  for  which  they  have  been  found  duly 
qualified,  in  the  order  of  their  registration. 

SEC.  11.  Teachers  are  authorized  to  require  excuses  from  the 
parents  or  guardians  of  pupils,  either  in  person  or  by  written  note, 
in  all  cases  of  absence  or  tardiness,  or  of  dismissal  before  the  close 
of  school. 

SEC.  12.  No  pupil  shall  be  allowed  to  retain  connection  with  any 
public  school  unless  furnished  with  books,  slate,  and  other  utensils 
required  to  be  used  in  the  class  to  which  he  belongs;  provided,  that 
no  pupil  shall  be  excluded  for  such  cause,  unless  the  parent  or 
guardian  shall  have  been  furnished  by  the  teacher  with  a  list  of 
books,  or  articles  needed,  and  one  week  shall  have  elapsed  after 
such  notice  without  the  pupil's  obtaining  said  books.  Books  may 
be  furnished  to  indigent  children  by  the  trustees,  at  the  expense  of 
the  district,  whenever  the  teacher  shall  have  certified  in  writing  that 
the  pupil  applying  is  unable  to  purchase  such  books. 

SEC.  13.  Any  pupil  who  shall  in  any  way  cut  or  otherwise  injure 
any  schoolhouse,  or  injure  any  fences,  trees,  or  outbuildings,  belong 
ing  to  any  of  the  school  estates,  or  shall  write  any  profane  or  obscene 
language,  or  make  any  obscene  characters  or  pictures  on  any  school 
premises,  shall  be  liable  to  suspension,  expulsion,  or  other  punishment, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  offense.  The  teacher  may  suspend  a 
pupil  temporarily  for  such  offense,  and  shall  notify  the  trustees  of  such 
action.  Pupils  shall  not  be  allowed  to  remain  in  any  of  the  rooms  that 
are  provided  with  improved  styles  of  furniture,  except  in  the  presence 
of  a  teacher  or  a  monitor,  who  is  made  specially  responsible  for  the  care 
of  the  seats  and  desks.  All  damages  done  to  school  property  by  any 
of  the  pupils  shall  be  repaired  at  the  expense  of  the  party  commit 
ting  the  trespass. 

SEC.  14.  All  pupils  who  go  to  school  without  proper  attention 
having  been  given  to  personal  cleanliness,  or  neatness  of  dress,  shall 
be  sent  home  to  be  properly  prepared  for  school,  or  shall  be  required 
to  prepare  themselves  for  the  schoolroom  before  entering.  Every 
schoolroom  shall  be  provided  with  a  wash-basin,  soap,  and  towels. 
SEC.  15.  No  pupils  affected  with  any  contagious  disease  shall  be 
allowed  to  remain  in  any  of  the  public  schools. 

SEC.  16.  The  books  used,  and  the  studies  pursued,  shall  be  such, 
and  such  only,  as  may  be  authorized  by  the  State  Board  of  Educa 
tion;  and  no  teacher  shall  require  or  advise  any  of  the  pupils  to 


COURSE   OF   STUDY  IN   DISTRICT   SCHOOLS.  209 

purchase,  for  use  in  the  schools,  any  book  not  contained  in  the  list 
of  books  directed  and  authorized  to  be  used  in  the  schools. 

SEC.  17.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  teachers  of  the  schools  to  read 
to  the  pupils,  from  time  to  time,  so  much  of  the  school  regulations 
as  apply  to  them,  that  they  may  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the 
rules  by  which  they  are  governed. 

SEC.  18.  In  all  primary  schools,  exercises  in  free  gymnastics,  and 
vocal  and  breathing  exercises,  shall  be  given  at  least  twice  a  day, 
and  for  a  time  not  less  than  five  minutes  for  each  exercise. 

SEC.  19.  The  following  supplies  shall  be  provided  by  the  District 
Clerk,  under  the  provisions  of  section  forty-six  of  the  Revised  School 
Law,  on  the  written  requisition  of  the  teacher,  viz:  clocks,  brooms, 
dusting-brushes,  wash-basins,  water -buckets,  tin  cups,  dust-pans, 
matches,  ink,  ink-bottles,  pens,  penholders,  slate  pencils,  crayon 
chalk,  hand-bells,  coal-buckets  or  wood-boxes,  shovels,  pokers,  soap, 
towels,  thermometers,  door-mats,  scrapers,  and  stationery. 

SEC.  20.  Trustees  are  authorized  and  recommended  to  employ  a 
suitable  person  to  sweep  and  take  care  of  the  schoolhouse,  and  to 
make  suitable  provision  for  supplying  the  school  with  water. 

RULES    FOE   PUPILS. 

1.  Every  pupil  is  expected  to  attend  school  punctually  and  regu 
larly;    to  conform  to  the  regulations  of   the  school,  and  to  obey 
prdmptly  all  the  directions  of  the  teacher;  to  observe  good  order, 
and  propriety  of  deportment;  to  be  diligent  in  study,  respectful  to 
teachers,  and  kind  and  obliging  to  schoolmates;  to  refrain  entirely 
from  the  use  of  profane  and  vulgar  language,  and  to  be  clean  and 
neat  in  person  and  clothing. 

2.  Pupils  are  required,  in  all  cases  of  absence,  to  bring,  on  their 
return  to  school,  an  excuse  in  writing,  from  their  parents  or  guard 
ians,  assigning  good  and  sufficient  reasons  for  such  absence. 

3.  All  pupils  who  have  fallen  behind  their  grade,  by  absence  or 
irregularity  of   attendance,  by  indolence  or   inattention,  shall   be 
placed  in  the  grade  below,  at  the  discretion  of  the  teacher. 

4.  No  pupil  shall  be  permitted  to  leave  school  at  recess,  or  at  any 
other  time  before  the  regular  hour  for  closing  school,  except  in  case 
of  sickness;  or  on  written  request  of  parent  or  guardian. 

5.  Any  scholar  who  shall   be  absent   one  week,  without  giving 
notice  to  the  teacher,  shall  lose  all  claim  to  his  particular  desk  for 
the  remainder  of  the  term,  and  shall  not  be  considered  a  member  of 
the  school. 

6.  Each  scholar  shall  have  a  particular  desk,  and  shall  keep  the 
same,  and  the  floor  beneath,  in  a  neat  and  orderly  condition. 

INSTRUCTIONS   TO    TEACHERS. 

1.  Teachers  will  endeavor  to  make  themselves  acquainted  with 
parents  and  guardians,  in  order  to  secure  their  aid  and  co-operation, 
and   to  better  understand   the   temperaments,  characteristics,  and 
wants  of  the  children. 

2.  Teachers  shall  daily  examine  the  lessons  of  their  various  classes, 
and  make  such  special  preparation  upon  them,  if  necessaiy,  as  not 
to  be  constantly  confined  to  the  text-book,  and  instruct  all  their 


210  THE   CALIFORNIA  TEACHER. 

pupils,  without  partiality,  in  those  branches  of  school  studies  which 
their  various  classes  may  be  pursuing.  In  all  their  intercourse  with 
their  scholars,  they  are  required  to  strive  to  impress  on  their  minds, 
both  by  precept  and  example,  the  great  importance  of  continued 
efforts  for  improvement  in  morals,  and  manners,  and  deportment,  as 
well  as  in  useful  learning. 

3.  Teachers  should  explain  each  new  lesson  assigned,  if  necessary, 
by  familiar  remarks  and  illustrations,  that  every  pupil  may  know, 
before  he  is  sent  to  his  seat,  what  he  is  expected  to  do  at  the  next 
recitation,  and  how  it  is  to  be  done. 

4.  Teachers  should  only  use  the  text-book  for  occasional  refer 
ence,  and  should  not  permit  it  to  be  taken  to  the  recitation,  to  be 
referred  to  by  the  pupils,  except  in  case  of  such  exercises  as  abso 
lutely  require  it.     They  should  assign  many  questions  of  their  own 
preparing,  involving  an  application  of  what  the  pupils  have  learned, 
to  the  business  of  life. 

5.  Teachers  should  endeavor  to  arouse  and  fix  the  attention  of  the 
whole  class,  and  to  occupy  and  bring  into  action  as  many  of   the 
faculties  of   their  pupils  as  possible.     They  should  never  proceed 
with  the  recitation  without  the  attention  of  the  whole  class,  nor  go- 
round  the  class  with  recitation  always  in  the  same  order,  or  in  regu 
lar  rotation. 

6.  Teachers  should  at  all  times  exhibit  proper  animation  them 
selves,  manifesting  a  lively  interest  in  the  subject  taught,  avoid  all 
heavy,  plodding  movements,  all  formal  routine  in  teaching,  lest  the 
pupil  be  dull  and  drowsy,  and  imbibe  the  notion  he  studies  only  to 
recite. 


XIV.   THE  CALIFORNIA  TEACHER. 

At  the  State  Teachers'  Institute,  May,  1863,  it  was  voted  to 
begin  the  publication  of  a  monthly  educational  journal. 

John  Swett  and  Samuel  I.  C.  Swezey  were  elected  managing 
editors,  and  the  first  number  of  the  California  Teacher  was  issued 
July,  1863. 

At  the  succeeding  session  of  the  Legislature,  1863-4,  a  law 
was  passed,  authorizing  county  superintendents  to  subscribe  for 
a  number  of  copies,  at  $1  a  copy,  to  supply  each  Board  of 
School  Trustees  with  one  copy. 

In  1864-5,  a  provision  was  made  in  the  Kevised  School  Law, 
authorizing  the  State  Board  of  Education  to  subscribe  for  a 
number  of  copies,  sufficient  to  supply  the  clerk  of  each  board 
of  trustees,  and  each  school  library,  with  a  copy  of  some  edu- 


THE  CALIFORNIA  TEACHER.  211 

cational  journal,  the  subscription  payable  out  of  the  State 
School  Fund. 

This  provision  placed  the  journal  on  a  paying  basis. 

After  the  first  year,  the  State  Educational  Society  assumed 
the  control  of  the  Teacher,  electing  its  editors  annually.  By 
the  Kevised  School  Law  of  1865,  the  State  Superintendent  was 
made,  ex-officio,  one  of  the  editors.  Messrs.  Swezey  and  Swett. 
continued  to  edit  the  journal  until  July,  1868. 

At  the  end  of  this  time,  Mr.  Swezey  made  the  following 
report : 

OFFICE  OF  "THE  CALIFORNIA  TEACHER," 
302  MONTGOMERY  STREET, 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  June  17,  1868. 
To  THE  CALIFORNIA  EDUCATIONAL  SOCIETY. 

GENTLEMEN:  The  undersigned,  as  acting  publisher  of  the  Califor 
nia  Teacher,  desires  to  present  the  following  facts  for  your  in 
formation  : 

1.  The  California  Teacher  was  established  at  the  State  Institute, 
held  in  May,  1863,  at  the  same  time  that  your  society  was  formally 
organized;  since  which  time  you  have  been  recognized  as  the  proper 
representative  of  the  teachers'  profession  in  this  State.  The  Insti 
tute  elected  John  Swett,  Geo.  Tait,  Geo.  W.  Minns,  and  the 
undersigned,  as  resident  editors;  and,  owing  to  ,the  pressure  of 
engagements  upon  the  gentlemen  named,  the  publishing  duties  were 
devolved  upon  the  undersigned,  who  has  continued  to  perform  those 
duties  through  the  entire  five  years,  closing  with  the  number  for 
June,  1868. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  volume,  the  authority  of  your  society  was 
editorially  recognized  in  the  following  terms:  "  The  Teacher  will  be 
guided  by  the  wise  hand  of  the  California  Educational  Society,  to 
which,  indeed,  we  have  hitherto  looked,  as  the  representative  of  the 
teachers  in  the  State.  What  that  society  says  in  regard  to  editors, 
will  be  regarded  as  law;  and  whenever  it  desires  a  change,  the  res 
ident  editors  of  the  first  volume  will  rejoice  in  their  relief  from 
responsibility  of  no  small  magnitude,  while  they  give  a  cheerful 
hand  to  their  successors  in  office."  (California  Teacher,  vol.  1, 
p.  310.) 

On  the  18th  of  June,  1864,  your  Society  unanimously  and  for 
mally  consented  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  the  .publication, 
and  thereupon  unanimously  elected  as  resident  editors,  John  Swett,. 
George  Tait,  and  the  undersigned.  (California  Teacher,  vol.  2, 
p.  23.) 

On  the  5th  of  June,  1865,  your  Society  elected  John  Swett,  John 
C.  Pelton,  and  the  undersigned,  as  resident  editors  for  the  ensuing 
year.  (California  Teacher,  vol.  3,  p.  54.)  Since  that  time  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  formal  action  taken  upon  this  subject, 
though  the  principle  has  been  regarded  as  settled  that  the  State 
Superintendent  and  the  City  Superintendent  of  San  Francisco 
should  always  be  among  the  resident  editors. 


212  THE   CALIFORNIA   TEACHER. 

2.  Under  Section  84  of  the  Kevised  School  Law,  the  State  Board 
of  Education,  on  the  13th  of  April,  1866,  unanimously  designated 
this  journal  as  the  official  organ  of  education  in  this  State.     (Cali 
fornia   Teacher,  vol.  3,  p.   293.)     And  since  that  time  the  expenses 
of  publishing  the  Teacher  have  been  mainly  met  by  the  proceeds  of 
the  State  subscription.     This  was  to  be  expected.     The  proportion 
of  teachers  in  any  State  who  pay  for  an  educational  journal  which 
they  can  read  without  paying  for,  is  very  small;  and  since  the  Teacher 
has  been  sent  to  every  district,  comparatively  few  private  subscrip 
tions  have  been  received.     The   amount  received  at  this  date  for 
subscriptions  to  vol.  6,  commencing  with  the  number  for  July,  is 
$4860. 

3.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  entire  labor  of  conducting  the  Teacher 
has    been   performed  by    Mr.    Swett   and   the    undersigned   [Mr. 
Swezey].     The  two  have  acted  in  harmony,  and  have  exercised  a 
mutual  supervision  over  each  other.     Any  article  or  paragraph  to 
which  either  has  objected  has  been  suppressed.     The  Department 
of  Public  Instruction  in  the  Teacher,  however,  was  under  the  exclu 
sive  control  of  Mr.   Swett  during  his  administration;  while,  as  a 
general  rule,  the  book  notices  were  the  special  department  of  the 
undersigned,  who  has  also  attended  to  the  proof  reading,  mailing, 
.accounts,  and  business  correspondence.     The  receipts  of  the  first 
two  years  did  not  equal  the  cost  of  printing.     The  third  year,  the 
receipts  and  expenses  were  about  equal.     During  the  fourth  and 
fifth  years,  the  receipts  have  so  far  exceeded  the  expenses  as  to 
enable  the  undersigned  to  depute  to  other  hands  the  actual  drudg 
ery  of  mailing;  and  at  the  end  of  the  whole  term,  the  two  working 
resident  editors  are  able  to  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  they  are  neither 
material   losers  nor  gainers  pecuniarily  in   the   conduct   of   their 
•editorial  experiments.     Last  year,  the  balance  sufficed  to  meet  a 
portion  of  the  office  rent  of  the  undersigned,  and  to  leave  perhaps 
$25  per   month   to    the   editors,    as    compensation   for   the   labor 
bestowed.     During  the  j^ear  now  ending,  the  same  result  is  prob 
able,  though,  as  the  bills  are  not  all  settled,  it  is  impracticable  to 
speak  positively  on  the  subject.     At  the  close  of  each  volume,  Mr. 
Swett  and  the  undersigned  have  divided  equally  the  profits  or  the 
losses  of  the  year,  and  commenced  the  succeeding  one  with  clear 
books,  to  stand  or  fall  on  its  own  merits. 

4.  A  grave  practical  question  comes  before  your  society  to-day, 
arising  from  the  following  state  of  facts: 

Upon  the  accession  to  office  of  the  present  State  Superintendent, 
he  assumed  that,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  Teacher  came  under  his 
personal  and  supreme  control. 

In  the  view  of  the  undersigned,  however,  the  Teacher  is  to  be  con 
ducted  by  persons  designated  by  your  society;  and  they  are  to  act 
until  their  successors  are  appointed — the  statute  giving  the  State 
Superintendent,  as  such,  absolute  control  over  simply  his  own  de 
partment  in  the  journal. 

The  Superintendent  was  informed,  therefore,  of  the  time  by  which 
the  printers  were  expected  to  receive  the  matter  for  each  monthly 
issue;  that  whatever  space  he  required  for  his  department  was  always 
to  be  at  his  service;  and  that,  to  avoid  any  apparent  supervision  of 


THE   CALIFORNIA  TEACHEE.  213 

what  he  should  choose  to  insert,  the  printers  would  be  instructed  to 
return  the  proof-slips  of  his  department  direct  to  his  office,  so  that 
the  appointed  editors  would  not  know  what  he  should  print,  until 
they  saw  it  in  the  completed  journal. 

This  seems  to  have  been  unsatisfactory  to  the  Superintendent,  and 
he  declines  to  accept  the  proposition,  or  to  use  the  Teacher  as  pro 
vided  by  law. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  State  Board  of  Education,  the  Super 
intendent  announced  his  intention,  if  the  exclusive  control  of  the- 
Teacher  should  not  be  placed  in  his  own  hands,  to  commence  the 
publication  of  an  educational  journal  on  his  own  account,  which  he- 
should  desire  to  have  designated  by  the  Board  as  the  organ  of  the- 
department.  The  Board  so  far  deferred  to  his  wishes  as  to  formally 
rescind  the  designation  of  the  California  Teacher,  and  the  matter 
was  then  left  until  after  jrour  present  meeting  should  be  held. 

Should  you  abandon  the  plan  hitherto  acted  upon,  and  elect  the 
State  Superintendent  as  controlling  editor,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
his  objections  to  the  designation  of  the  California  Teacher  will  be  at 
once  withdrawn;  and  it  seems  to  be  equally  certain  that,  should  you 
continue  the  plan  hitherto  acted  upon,  it  will  rest  with  the  State 
Board  of  Education,  to  make  choice  between  the  journal  respon 
sible  to  the  profession,  as  teachers  of  the  State,  and  a  journal  under 
the  supreme  control  of  the  present  State  Superintendent,  as  editor 
and  publisher. 

With  the  undersigned,  as  to  the  principle  involved,  there  is  no 
shadow  of  doubt.  The  example  of  all  educational  journals  at  the  East, 
favors  the  plan  heretofore  acted  upon,  that  the  teachers,  in  their 
highest  associated  capacity,  should  name  the  editors,  and  the  State 
Superintendent  should  have  entire  control,  simply,  of  one  depart 
ment  in  the  teachers'  organ. 

As  to  the  few  hundred  dollars  that  may  be  saved  in  the  publica 
tion  of  the  California  Teacher,  each  year,  the  undersigned,  for  him 
self  (and,  as  he  thinks,  for  Mr.  Swett),  is  decided  in  the  wish,  that 
any  other  persons  who  think  the  amount  received  will  properly  pay 
for  the  responsibility  attached,  should  be  elected  by  your  society  to 
the  editorial  office. 

All  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

SAMUEL  I.  C.  SWEZEY. 

In  July,  1868,  State  Superintendent  Fitzgerald  and  A.  L. 
Fitzgerald  were  elected  editors. 

In  1872,  the  State  Society  elected  John  Swett,  associate  ed 
itor,  with  State  Supt.  Bolander;  and,  in  the  year  following,  the 
journal  was  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  State  Society,  and  its 
entire  control  was  assumed  by  Supt.  Bolander. 

At  this  time,  the  State  subscription  amounted  to  $4,000  a 
year. 

In  1876,  the  Legislature  cut  off  the  State  subscription,  which 
ended  the  publication  of  the  California  Teacher. 


214  THE   CALIFORNIA  TEACHER. 


THE     PIONEER     JOURNAL. 


The  first  educational  journal  published  in  this  State  was  The 
Bookseller,  published  in  1860,  by  H.  H.  Bancroft  &  Co.,  and 
edited  by  John  Swett.  It  maintained  a  lingering  existence  of  a 
year,  and  then  died  of  starvation. 

It  contained  two  fine  articles  by  Starr  King,  one  by  Dr.  Tut- 
hill,  and  other  able  papers. 


CONTRIBUTORS  TO  THE  TEACHER. 

The  following  list  includes  most  of  the  teachers  who  were 
^contributors  to  the  State  educational  journal: 

George  W.  Minns,  Sparrow  Smith,  Charles  Russell  Clarke, 

Mrs.  Jennie  C.  Carr,  Martin  Kellogg,  Dr.  F.  W.  Hatch, 

E.  R.  Sill,  D.  C.  Stone,    '  A.  F.  Hill, 

Bernhard  Marks,  Ebenezer  Knowlton,  Dr.  T.  H.  Rose, 

Clara  J.  Dolliver,  Ralph  Keeler,  W.  W.  Holder, 

John  S.  Hittell,  Volney  Rattan,  "William  Swiuton, 

Daniel  J.  Thomas,  Dr.  E.  J.  Schellhouse,  H.  C.  Kinne, 

Laura  T.  Fowler,  John  Bugnall,  Joseph  LeConte. 


LEADING  TOPICS. 

Grammar— Hittell.  Botany— Prof.  Wood. 

Heat  as  a  Mode  of  Motion — Minns.  Co-education  of  the  Sexes — Swett. 

The  Classics  in  School — Kellogg.  Against  Medals  in  Schools— Marks. 

v    A  Letter  from  'Zekiel  Stebbins — Minns.  Education  in  Great  Britain— Rattan. 

N  Physical  Culture— Swett.  The  Eldest  Scholar— Keeler. 

Waste  in  School— Marks.  The  True  Teacher— Swett. 

Africa  and  the  Nile — Minns.  Arithmetic— Marks. 

Constitution  and  Government — Thomas.  Etymology — Hill. 

•  Juvenile  Depravity  in  Schools— Swett.  Pestalozzi— Carlton. 

School  Libraries — Stone.  Marks's  "Arithmetic" — Holder. 

Geography  of  California — Marks.  Composition — Bagnall. 

Reverence  for  Children — Kellogg.  Word-Analysis — Swinton. 

Teaching  as  a  Profession — Marks.  Reading — Kinne. 

Examination  of  Teachers — Swett  Female  Education— Mrs.  Carr. 

Modern  Languages — Keeler.  Botany  for  Schools  — Bolander. 
.Practical  Education — Kellogg. 


HISTORICAL   STATISTICAL   TABLES. 


215 


XV.    HISTORICAL  STATISTICAL  TABLED  R  A  R 

18Sl-'76.  2KS 


i.  EXPENDITURES. 


YEABS. 

Assessed  value  of 
property. 

YEAKS. 

Total  expenditures. 

Rate  per 
$100. 

1850-51 

$57,670,689 

1851-52 

$33,449 

0679 

1851-2 

49,231,052 

1852-3 

65,645 

1016 

1852-3 

64,579,375 

1853-4  

275,606 

2890 

1853-4 

95,335,646 

1854-5    

334,638 

3009 

1854-5 

111,191,630 

1855-6  

305.221 

2938 

1855-6 

103,887,193 

1856-7  

307,832 

3240 

1856-7 

95,007,440 

1857-8    

339,914 

2696 

1857-8  .    .  . 

126,059,461 

1859  

427,003 

3444 

1858-9  

123,955,877 

1860    

474,263 

.3618 

1859-60     .    ... 

131,060,279 

1861  

470,113 

.3172 

1860-61    

148,193,540 

1862  

441,228 

.2985 

1861-2  
1862-3  

147,811,617 
160,369,071 

1863  
1864      .  . 

483,407 
655,198 

.3014 
.3763 

1863--4 

174  104  955 

1865 

883,116 

4893 

1864-5  

180  484,949 

1866    .    . 

859,229 

.4680 

1865-6  

183  509,161 

1867  

1,163,348 

.5816 

1866-7    . 

200,764  135 

1868 

1,151,407 

.5255 

1867-8 

212  205  339 

1869 

1,290,585 

.5418 

1868-9  

237,483,175 

1870    

1,529,04,7 

.5868 

1869-70 

260,563  886 

1871 

1,713,431 

.6572 

1870-71 

277  538  134 

1872 

1,881,333 

.7001 

1871-2 

267  868  126 

1873 

2,113,356 

.3321 

1872-3 

637  232,823 

1874  

2,111,155 

.3992 

1873  4 

528  747  043 

1875        

2,658,241 

4347 

1874-5    

611,495,197 

FROM  OFFICIAL  REPORTS. 


I.  Total  amount  paid  for  teachers'  salaries $14,463,846 

II.  Total  amount  paid  for  school-houses  and  sites.  .      3,950,828 

III.  Total  amount  paid  for  incidentals 3,553,101 

IV.  Total  amount  paid  for  all  purposes 21,967,775 


216 


HISTORICAL   STATISTICAL   TABLES. 


ADDITIONAL   EXPENSES (ESTIMATED). 

1.  State  University *$850.000 

2.  State  Normal  School 600,000 

3.  Salaries  of  State  Superintendents 75,000 

4.  Incidentals,   printing,   &c.,  of  the  State  Superin 

tendent's  office 250,000 

5.  Salaries  of  County  and  City  Superintendents,  and 

incidentals  paid  from  the  general  funds 800,000 


Total $2,225,000 

Grand  total  of   expenditures  for  Public   School 

purposes   24,542,775. 


2.  SCHOOL  TAXATION, 


YEARS. 

State  School  Fund 
apportioned. 

Raised   by   county 
and  city  taxes. 

tRaised  from  other 
sources. 

1852 

$2,417  CO 

1853                      .        ...      .. 

10  626  00 

1854       

$52  061   00 

$157  702  00 

42,557  00 

1855  

03,662  00 

119  128  00 

39  395  00 

1856 

69  961  00 

121  639  CO 

28,619  CO 

1857                            .... 

78  057  00 

148  989  00 

55  035  00 

1858     

53  405  00 

162  870  00 

85,107  00 

1859     

72,319  00 

205  196  00 

97,534  00 

1860  

81  118  00 

230  514  CO 

122  858  00 

1861  

81,461  00 

241,861  00 

114,397  00 

1862 

75  412  00 

294,828  00 

141  806  00 

1863 

145  537  00 

328  554  00 

68  209  00 

1864 

132  217  00 

260,842  00 

84  084  00 

1865  

168  828  00 

390  306  00 

91,181  00 

1866  

132  410  00 

470  668  00 

79  600  CO 

1867   

268  910  00 

595,718  CO 

81,966  00 

1868 

259  603  00 

654  738  00 

73  986  00 

1869  

990  796  00 

847  229  00 

66  531  00 

1870  

360  447  00 

839  756  00 

63  441  00 

1871  

423  853  00 

923,809  00 

46  6CO  00 

1872  

424  022  00 

1,249  943  00 

232  075  00 

1873  

430  220  00 

1,541,597  00 

310  502  00 

1874  

428  418  12 

1  332  208  82 

345,316  95 

1875  

1,212,252  03 

1,115,530  06 

676,259  64 

Totals  

$5,298.8(19  35 

$12,243,625  88 

$2.9fiO,16'2  59 

"Exclusive  of  an  endowment  fund  of  $1,500,000. 
tl  istrict  Taxes,  Kate  Bills,  etc. 


HISTORICAL   STATISTICAL  TABLES. 


217 


3.  SCHOOL  STATISTICS, 


YEARS. 

Children  Listed 
by   Census 
Marshals 

Enrolled  on 
School  Registers 

Average  daily 
attendance. 

Number  of 
Schools. 

1851 

*5  906 

1  846 

1852  

•17,821 

3,314 

35 

1853  

*19,442 

4,193 

2,020 

111 

1854       .... 

*20,075 

9,746 

4,635 

168 

1855     

*26,077 

6,442 

227 

1856  

*30,039 

8,495 

321 

1857  

•35,722 

17,232 

9,717 

368 

1858  

*40,530 

19,822 

11,183 

432 

1859  

*48,676 

23,519 

13,364 

523 

1860  

*57,917 

26,993 

14,754 

593 

1861  .. 

"68,395 

31,786 

17,804 

,      684 

1862  ... 

•71,821 

36,566 

19,262 

«     715 

1863  

*78,055 

36,540 

19,992 

754 

1864  

*86,031 

47,588 

24,794 

832 

1865  

*95,067 

50,089 

29,592 

947 

1866  ... 

1  8  1,179 

50,273 

33,989 

913 

1867  

t94,213 

62,227 

43,271 

,083 

1868  

t  104,  118 

65,828 

43,681 

,228 

1869  

t!12,743 

73,754 

49,802 

,354 

1870  

t!21,751 

85,808 

54,271 

,492 

1871  

1  130,  116 

91,332 

64,286 

,550 

1872 

t!37,351 

94  720 

65,700 

,654 

1873 

t!41,610 

107  593 

69,461 

868 

1874  

||159  717 

120  240 

72283 

2  005 

1875  

$171,563 

130,930 

78,027 

2,190 

*  Between  four  and  fifteen  years  of  age. 

t  Between  five  and  fifteen  years  of  age. 

$  Including  children  over  fifteen  years  of  age. 

II  Between  five  and  seventeen  years  of  age. 

§  Including  children  over  seventeen  years  of  age. 


218 


LIST   OF   COUNTV   SUPERINTENDENTS. 


XVI.    HISTORICAL  LIST  OF  COUNTY  SUPERIN 
TENDENTS. 


From    I8SS   to   1876,    inclusive. 


NOTE.— From  1852  to  1854,  the  County  Clerks  were  ex-qfficio  County  Superin 
tendents.     Those  marked  *  are  known  to  have  been  practical  teachers. 


ALAMEDA. 

Rev.  A.  H.  Myers '55,  '56 

Rev.  W.  W.  Brier '57,  '58 

Dr.  Henry  Gibbons '59,  '60 

Rev.  J.  D.  Strong '61,  '62 

Rev.B.K  Seymour.  .'63,  '64,  '65 
Rev.  Chas  E.  Rich  .  .'66,  '66,  '68 

*  A.  L.  Fuller '69,  '70 

Rev.  W.  F.  B.  Lynch.  . .  .'70,  '78 

ALPINE. 

L.  S.  Greenlow '64,  '68 

S.  W.  Griffith '68,  '69 

Joseph  Uncapher '70,  '71 

*  John  Bagnall '72,  '73 

R.  W.  Foster '74 

*Mrs.  C.  M.  Pitcher  . .  .  .'76,  '78 

AM  AD  OB. 

E.  B.  Mclntire '56,  '57 

Rev.  H.  H.  Rhees '58,  '59 

J.  H.  Bradley '60 

Samuel  Page :'61,  '63 

*D.  Townsend '64,  '65 

Rev.  S.  G.Briggs '66, '74 

W.  H.  Stowes '74,  '78 

BUTTE. 

J.  J.  Cline '56 

Rev.  B.  N.  Seymour '57 

H.A.Gaston '58,  '59 

Rev.  J.  B.  Thomas '60,  '61 

S.  B.  Osbourn '62,  '63 

*  Isaac  Upharn '64,  '65 

*C.  G.  Warren '66,  '70 

*  Lewis   Burnham '70,  '71 

*H.  T.  Batchelder '72,  '74 

*S.  T.  Blake '74,  '76 

*  Arthur  McDermott '76,  '78 


CALAVEEAS. 

Robert  Thompson '57,  '63 

Rev.  W.  C.  Mosher '64,  '65 

*  F.  O.  Barstow '66,  '67 

*C.  V.  Currier '68   '69 

*J.  H.  Wells '70   '72 

E.  T.  Walker '72,  '76 

*  Chas  R.  Beale '76,  '78 

COLUSA. 

B.  M.  Hand '57,  '60 

Frank  Spaulding '61 

Charles   Street '62 

John  C.  Addington '63,  '67 

*S.  W.  Britton '68,  '69 

*G.  W.  Howard '70,  '71 

E.  J.  Edwards '72,  '73 

*J.  E.Putnam '74, '75 

Sam.  Houchins '76,  '78 

CONTRA  COSTA. 

Thomas  Ewing '56 

E.  H.  Cox ;57,  '58 

A.  F.  Dyer '59,  '60 

D.  S.  Woodruff '61,  '63 

Rev.  H.  R.  Avery '64,  '68 

*  Alfred  Thurber.  '68,  '72,  '76,  '78 
*H.  S.  Raven '72,  '74 

DEL  NOBTE. 

H.  W.  McMillen '58 

R.  S.  McLellan.'59,  '61,  '64,  '65, 
'68,  '70 

Charles  Hinckley '62,  '63 

John  Mavity '66,  '67 

John  R.  Nickel '70,  '74 

*Max  Lipowitz '74,  '78 


LIST   OF   COUNTY   SUPERINTENDENTS. 


219 


EL  DORADO. 

H.  S.  Herrick  . .  .'55,  '56,  '59,  '60 

J.  G.  Eustis '57 

H.  L.  Pease '58 

*M.  A.  Lynde '60,  '64 

*S.  A.  Penwell '64,  '65 

*C.  C.  Conldin '66,  '67 

*W.  H.  Hill '68,  '74 

*John  P.  Munson '74,  '78 

FRESNO. 

E.  S.  Kincaid '61 

H.  M.  Quigley '62,  '63 

S.  H.  Hill '64,  '68 

Dr.  S.  O.  Ellis,  Sr '68,  '76 

E.  H.  Bramlet '76,  '78 

HUMBOLDT. 

A.J.  Heustis    '55, '56 

E.  H.  Howard '57,  '58 

H.  H.  Seaverns '59,  '60 

Eev.  W.  L.  Jones '61,  '68 

*J.  B.  Brown  . '68,  '74 

E.  C.  Cummings '74,  '78 

INYO. 

€.  M.  Joslin '68,  '69 

J.  W.  Symines '70,  '78 

KLAMATH. 

R.  P.  Hirst '60,  '61,  '63 

J.  H.  Twombly     , '62 

E.  Lee '64,  '65 

James  Gould     '68,  '69 

H.  P.  Scott '71,  '72 

KERN. 

E.  W.  Doss '68,  '69 

J.  H.Cornwall '70,  '74 

*L.  A.  Bearsdsley    '74,  '78 

LAKE. 

W.  E.  Mathews    '61,  '66 

*A.  P.  McCarty '66,  '67 

*Mack  Mathews 68,  '74 

Eev.  Louis  Wallace '74,  '78 

LASSEN. 

William  Young '64,  '65 

A.  A.  Smith '66,  '70 

L.  M.  Grill    '70,  '71 

L.  N.  Spaulding '72,  '76 

S.  A.  Doyle '76,  '78 


LOS  ANGELES. 

Charles  Johnson '57,  '58 

J.  W.  Shore '59,  '63 

L.  J.  Eose '64,  '65 

Eev.  E.  Birdsall '66,  '67 

H.  D.  Barrows '68,  '69 

*W.  M.  McFadden '70,  '74 

*Geo.  H.  Peck '74,  '75 

*Thos.  A.  Saxen '76,  '78 

MARIN. 

John  Simms '57,  '58 

John  Shore '59,  '60 

James  Miller '61,  '63 

J.  W.  Zuver '64,  '65 

A.  Barney '66,  '70 

*  Samuel  Saunders '70,  '78 

MARIPOSA. 

A.  Reynolds '57,  '60 

J.  E.  McCready '60,  '65 

D.  W.  Washburn '66,  '67 

W.  C.  Hill '68,  '69 

J.  W.   Simmons '70,  '71 

David  Egenhoff '72,  '76 

Eichard  Kane '76,  '78 

MENDOCINO. 

A.  L.Brayton '59,  '61 

C.  E.  Bucld '62,  '63 

J.  L.  Broaddus '64,  '65 

*C.  C.  Cummings '66,  '70 

T.  B.  Bond '70,  '71 

*J.  W.  Covington '72,  '73 

*  J.  H.  Seawell '74,  '75 

*J.  C.  Euddock '76,  '77 

MERCED. 

J.  W.  Eobertson '56 

B.F.  Howell '57,  '58 

F.  J.  Woodward '58,  '61 

E.  B.  Huey '61,  '65 

T.  O.Ellis '66,  '67 

M.  C.  Munroe '68,  '72 

J.  K.  Law   '72,  '73 

B.  F.  Fowler '74,  '78 

MONO. 

M.  S.  Clark '70 

A.  W.  Crocker '71,  '72 

J.  S.  Kirkendale '73,  '74 

E.  E.  Miner '75,  '76 

*Miss  Alice  Walker '76,  '78 


220 


LIST  OF   COUNTY   SUPERINTENDENTS. 


MODOC. 

W.  F.  Estes '74,  '78 

MONTEREY. 

J.  H.  Gleason '57,  '58 

T.  S.  Koberts '59,  '60 

G.  W.  Bird '61, '64 

W.  M.  K.  Parker '64,  '65 

Thomas  Bralee '66,  '67 

*T.  W.  Clay '69,  '70 

E.  M.  Alderman '70,  '71 

*S.  M.  Shearer '72,  '73 

E.  C.  McCroskey '74,  '78 

NAPA. 

J.  E.  Herron '57 

Jas.  Corwin '58 

J.  M.  Hamilton '59,  '60 

Bev.  A.  Higbie '62,  '70 

Kev.  G.  W.  Ford '70,  '76 

L.  Fellows '76,  '78 

NEVADA. 

W.  B.  Ewer '56,  '57 

C.  T.  Overton '58,  '60 

J.  A.  Chittenden '60,  '63 

M.S.  Deal '64,  '68 

*E.  M.  Preston. '68,  '69;  '76,  '78 

*  Augustus  Morse '70,  '71 

*B.  J.Watson '72,  '73 

*  Frank  Powers '74,  '75 

PLACER. 

T.  B.  Hotchkiss  '56 

P.  C.  Millette '57,  '58 

S.  S.  Greenwood '59,  '60 

*  A.  H.  Goodrich '60,  '66 

S.  E.  Case '66,  '70 

J.  T.  Kinkade '70,  '76 

Eugene  Calvin '76,  '78 

PLUMAS. 

M.  D.  Sawyer '59 

J.  C.  Church '58,  '59 

H.  S.Titus '60 '66 

G.  W.  Meybert '66  '70 

*S.  S.  Boynton '70 '72 

J.  A.  Edmon '72,  '73 

*W.  S.  Church  .  .  .'74 '78 


SACRAMENTO. 

Dr.  F.  W.  Hatch,  '55,  '56;  '59-63- 
'66,  '67. 

Nelson  Slater '57,  '58 

*Sparrow  Smith '64,  '65 

Dr.  A.  Trafton '68 '72 

*S.  H.  Jackman '73,  '74 

Dr.  G.  E.  Kelley '75,  '7$ 

*F.  L.  Landis  .  ..'76 '78 


SAN   BENITO. 

*H.  L.  Morris '76  '78 

SAN  BERNARDINO. 

H.  A.  Skinner '55 '57 

E.  E.  Pearce '58 

Ellis  Eobbins '59,  '60 

A.  F.  McKinney .  .  '60  '64 

W.  S.  Clark '64,  '65;  '68,  '69 

W.  L.  Eagsdale '66,  '6T 

H.  C.  Brooks '70, '71 

John  Brown,  Jr '72, '73 

*Henry  Goodcel,  Jr '74,  '75 

C.  E.  Payne '76  '78 

SAN  DIEGO. 

Frank  Ames '56,  '57 

J.  M.  Estudillo. .  '58-'62;  '64,  '65- 

Geo.  Pendleton '62,  '63 

Marcus  Schiller '68,  '69 

H.  H.  Dougherty '70,  '72; 

B.  S.  McLafferty '73,  '74 

J.  H.  S.  Jamison '75, '76 

*F.  N.  Pauly '76/78 

SAN   FRANCISCO. 

*John  C.  Pelton,  Co.  Sup't. .  .'54 
City  and  Co.  Sup't.... '55 

CITY  AND  COUNTY  SUPEEINTENDENTS. 

E.  A.  Theller '5& 

Henry  B.  Janes '57,  '58 

*  James  Denman,  '59,  '60;  '68,  '69, 
'70;  '74,  '75 

*Geo.  Tait '61,  '62,  '63,  '64* 

*John  C.  Pelton ..'66,  '67 

J.  H.  Widber '71, '72, '73 

*H.  N.  Bolander '76,  '78 


LIST   OF   COUNTY   SUPERINTENDENTS. 


221 


SAN  JOAQUIN. 

*L.  C.  Van  Allen '58,  '59,  '60 

*Cyrus   Collins '60,  '64 

^Melville  Cottle '64/70 

*W.  E.  Leadbetter '70,  '74 

*T.  O.  Crawford '74,  '75 

*S.  G.  S.  Dunbar..  .:...  .'76/78 

SAN  LUIS  OBISPO. 

P.  A.  Forrester.  .'58-' 60;  '66-'68; 
'70,  '74 

Alex.  Murray '60, '68 

J.H.  Gooch '68,  '69 

J.  M.  Felts '74/78 

SAN  MATEO. 

*W.  C.  Crook '62/66 

Bobt.  Greer '66, '67 

*H.N.  Nutting '68, '72 

Bev.  H.  E.  Jewet '73,  '74 

*C.  G.  Warren '75,  '76 

G.  P.  Hartley '76,  '78 

SANTA  BARBARA. 

A.  B.  Thompson '64  '70 

Bev.  J.  C.  Hamer 7(L76 

G.  E.  Thurmond 'if '78 

SANTA    CLARA. 

*Ereeman  Gates '55,  '56 

Mathew  Mitchell '56,  '60 

S.  S.  Niles '60,  '64 

"Wesley  Tonner '64,  '67 

*J.  B.  Brierly '68 

*J.  H.  Braly '68,  '69 

*N.  Furlong '70,  71 

*Geo.F.  Baker '72,73 

*J.  G.  Kennedy '74,  '75 

*E.  Bousseau '76,  '78 

SANTA  CRUZ. 

D.  J.  Haslam '59,  '63 

Bev.  P.  Y.  Cool   ;64,  '65 

*H.  P.  Stone   '66/67 

*H.  E.  Makinney '68,  '74 

*W.  H.  Hobbs '74, '78 

SHASTA. 

*Y.  N.  Chappelle '55 

H.  A.  Curtin '56 

*Grove  K.  Godfrey '57,  '64 

J  ohn  Conmy '64,  '65 

W.  L.  Carter    '66,  '74 

*G.  W.  Welch '75,  '76 

*Mrs.  D.  M.  Coleman. . .  .'76,  '78 


SIERRA. 

Bev.  W.  C.  Pond '61,  '66 

J.  M.  Haven '67,  '68 

*J.  H.  Thorpe '68,  72 

A.  M.  Phalin 72,78 

SISKIYOU. 

G.  F.  Price   '57,  '58 

B.  S.  McEwan  '59,  '60 

*Thos.  N.  Stone '62,  '68 

*Grove  K.  Godfrey '68,  74 

*Wm.  Duenkel 74,  78 

SOLANO. 

Bev.  S.  Woodbridge '58,  '6l 

Bev.  J.  W.  Hines '61,  '6^ 

*Geo.  W.  Simonton '64,  '68 

*Milton  Wasson '69 

*W.  H.  Fry 70,  74 

*C.  W.  Childs 74,  78 

SONOMA. 

*Charles  G.  Ames   '61,  70 

*G.  W.Jones   70,  74 

*A.  C.  McMeans 74,  78 

STANISLAUS. 

A.  B.  Anderson   .  ..'61,  '64 

G.  W.  Schell  '64,  '65 

T.  T.  Hamlin   '68,  72 

James  Burney 73,  74 

W.  B.Howard 76,  78 

SUTTER. 

C.  Wilcoxon '56, '58, '61 

A.  S.  Long '59,  '60 

J.  E.  Stevens '62,  '63 

*N.  Furlong '64,  '65 

*J.  H.  Clark 70,74 

*M.  C.Clark 74,  78 

TEHAMA. 

W.  L.Bradley.  ..'59,  '60 

W.  H.  Bahney '61,  '66 

*Geo.  F.  Morris  '67,  '68 

G.  W.Jeffries '68,  72 

F.  A.  Vestal 73,  74 

C.  D.  Woodman 75,  76 

E.  S.  Campbell  76,  78 


222 


LIST  OF  COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENTS. 


TRINITY. 

M.  Euch '57/60 

Henry  Martin '61 

F.  Walter '62, '63 

David  Gordon '64,  '70 

C.  W.  Smith '70,  '71 

Wm.  Lovett '72,  '73 

H.  H.Bragdon '75,  '76 

*  Mary  N.  Wadleigh '76,  '78 


TUOLUMNE. 

G.  S.  Evans '57,  '58 

B.  A.  Mardis '59,  '60 

K.E.  Gardiner '61 

Charles  Pease '62,  '63 

*  John  Graham '64,  '65 

J.  Spencer '66,  '67 

W.  J.  Clark '68, '69 

*C.   L.   Metzger '70, '71 

*  John   York,  Jr '72,  '73 

John  Murman '75,  '76 

*  Kose   E.  Morgan '76,  '77 


TULARE. 

O.  E.  Smith '59,  '6O 

T.  O.Ellis '61,  '64 

M.  S.  Merrill '64,  '68 

J.  W.  Williams '68,  '70 

S.  G.   Creighton '70,  '74 

E.    P.   Merrill '74,  '78 

VENTURA. 

T.  S.  S.  Buckman '76,  '78 

YOLO. 

Henry  Gaddis '57,  '65 

*M.  A.  Woods '66, '68 

E.  E.  Darby '68,  '72 

*  G.  N.  Freeman '72,  '7& 

YUBA. 

Eev.  E.  B.  Walsworth . . .  .'57,  '61 

W.  C.  Belcher '62,  '66 

*D.  C.  Stone '67,  '68 

*  Isaac  Upham '69,  '70 

Eev.  A.  A.  McAllister. . .  .'71,  '72 
*Thos.  H.  Steel '72, '78 


NOTES. — Among  the  County  Superintendents  distinguished 
for  long  terms  of  office,  or  for  educational  labors  may  be 
named : 

Dr.  F.  W.  Hatch,  for  ten  years  Superintendent  of  Sacramento 
County;  a  careful  and  popular  officer,  whose  reports  rank  among 
the  best. 

Chas.  G.  Ames,  for  ten  years  Superintendent  of  Sonoma 
County;  an  accurate  and  capable  school  officer. 

Eev.  A.  Higbie,  of  Napa  County,  seven  years;  and  Eev.  G. 
W.  Ford,  six  years. 

Grove  K.  Godfrey,  six  years  in  Shasta  County  and  six  years 
in  Siskiyou. 

Eev.  W.  C.  Pond,  Sierra  County,  five  years. 

George  W.  Simonton,  Solano  County,  four  years. 

David  Gordon,  Trinity  County,  six  years. 

W.  C.  Belcher,  Yuba  County,  four  years;  and  Eev.  E.  B., 
Walsworth,  same  county,  four  years. 

Eev.  W.  T.  B.  Lynch,  Alameda  County,  six  years. 


PRESENT  CONDITION   OF   THE  SCHOOL   SYSTEM.  223 


!  UNIVERSITY  OF 


PART  III. 
PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 


I.  SCHOOL  SUPERVISION. 

I.  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 
II.  State  Board  of  Education, 

III.  State  Board  of  Examination. 

IV.  County  Superintendents. 
V.  City  Superintendents. 

VI.  City  Boards  of  Education. 
VII.  Boards  of  District  School  Trustees. 
VIII.  County  Boards  of  Examination. 
IX.  Board  of  Regents  of  the  State  University. 
X.  Board  of  Normal  School  Trustees. 

I.  STATE  SUPERINTENDENT. — Elected  every  four  years,  at  the 
Special  Judicial  Election,  in  the  October  following  the  General 
Election  for  Governor  and  other  State  officers  in  September. 
Salary,  $3,000  a  year;  traveling  expenses,  $1,500  a  year.     Dep 
uty   Superintendent :   salary,    $1,800  a  year.      Clerk :   salary, 
$1,500. 

II.  STATE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. — It  consists  of  the  Governor, 
State  Superintendent,  Principal  State  Normal  School,  and  the 
County  Superintendents  of  San  Francisco,  Sacramento,  Santa 
Clara,  San  Joaquin,  Alameda,  and  Sonoma.     Powers. — To  issue 
life  diplomas;  to  prescribe  rules  and  regulations  and  a  course 
of  study  for  all  schools,  except  those  in  incorporated  cities;  to 
adopt  a  State  series  of  text-books. 

[The  power  of  adopting  text-books  repealed  by  the  Legislature 
of  1876.] 

Board  required  to  meet  at  least  four  times  a  year.  No  salary, 
but  traveling  expenses  allowed. 

III.  STATE  BOARD  OF  EXAMINATION. — It  consists  of  the  State 
Superintendent,  and  four  professional   teachers  appointed  by 
him.     Salary,  $200  a  year.     Powers. — To  prepare  questions  for 


224  PRESENT   CONDITION   OF   THE   SCHOOL    SYSTEM. 

the  examination  of  teachers  for  county  and  city  examinations; 
to  issue  State  diplomas,  valid  for  six  years;  first  grade  cer 
tificates,  valid  for  four  years;  second  and  third  grades,  valid 
for  two  years — all  on  county  and  city  examinations.  Also  to 
issue  certificates  on  State  Normal  School  diplomas  of  any  State 
Normal  School  in  the  United  States,  and  on  life  diplomas  of 
other  States. 

IV.  COUNTY  SUPEKINTENDENTS. — Elected  every  two  years,  at 
the  general  election. 

Powers. — To  apportion  school  moneys,  draw  warrants  for  the 
payments  of  teachers,  conduct  examinations  of  teachers,  to  visit 
schools,  conduct  County  Institutes,  and  make  a  biennial  report 
to  the  State  Superintendent. 

Salary.—  From  $200  to  $1,800  a  year;  average,  $830. 

V.  CITY  SUPERINTENDENTS. — Elected,    in  general,  by  direct 
vote  of  the  people,  for  two  years.     They  have  the  usual  powers 
of  superintendents  in  other  cities  in  the  United  States. 

Salaries.—  San  Francisco,  $4,000;  Oakland,  $2,400;  San  Jose, 
$1,200. 

VI.  CITY  BOARDS  OF  EDUCATION. — Elected  by  direct  vote  of 
the  people,  either  at  general  or  special  elections,  and  consisting 
of  from  five  to  twelve  members,  elected  for  two  years. 

Powers. — To  build  schoolhouses,  employ  teachers,  and  manage 
school  affairs  generally. 
No  salary. 

VII.  BOARDS  OF  DISTRICT  SCHOOL  TRUSTEES. — Elected  at 
special  school  elections,  for  a  term  of  three  years,  one  trustee 
being  elected  each  year. 

Powers.  —  To    build    schoolhouses,    employ    teachers,    and 
manage  local  school  affairs  generally. 
No  salary. 

VIII.  COUNTY  BOARDS  OF  EXAMINATION. — Consist  of  County 
Superintendent,  and  of  not  less  than  three  professional  teachers, 
appointed  by  him. 

Salary. — Three  dollars  a  day,  and  traveling  expenses. 
Powers. — To  hold  quarterly  examinations,  using  the  questions 
prepared  by  the  State  Board  of  Examination,  on  the  first  Wed- 


PRESENT   CONDITION   OF   THE   SCHOOL   SYSTEM.  225 

nesday  in  the  mouths  of    December,  March,  June,  and  Sep 
tember,  and  to  issue  1st,  2d,  and  3d  grade  county  certificates. 

IX.  EEGENTS  OF  THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY. — Composed,  partly, 
of  ex-officio  members,    State  officers;    partly  of    members  ap 
pointed  by  the  Governor,  for  terms  of  sixteen  years;  and  partly 
of  members  elective  by  the  appointed  members. 

Powers. — To  manage  the  affairs  of  the  State  University. 
No  salary. 

X.  BOARD  OF  STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  TRUSTEES. — Consists  of 
the  Governor  and  State  Superintendent,  and  five  members  ap 
pointed  by  the  Governor,  for  a  term  of  sixteen  years. 

No  salary. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  DEPARTMENT   OF  PUBLIC   INSTRUCTION,  1876. 

I.    OFFICE    OF    STATE    SUPERINTENDENT. 

Office  located  at  the  State  Capital,  Sacramento. 

State  Superintendent Ezra  S.  Carr. 

Deputy Mrs.  E.  S.  Carr. 

Clerk..  ..H.  A.Moses. 


H.  STATE    BOARD    OF    EDUCATION. 
Office  at  Sacramento. 

Gov.  William  Irwin President. 

Supt.  E.  S.  Carr Secretary. 

Chas  H.  Allen Prin.  State  Normal  School. 

COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENTS,  EX-OFFICIO   MEMBERS. 

H.  N.  Bolander San  Francisco. 

T.  L.  Landis Sacramento. 

W.  F.  B.  Lynch Alameda. 

E.  Kousseau Santa  Clara. 

A.  C.  McMeans Sonoma. 

S.  B.  S.  Dunbar San  Joaquin. 

HI.    STATE    BOARD    OF    EXAMINATION. 
Place  of  Meeting,  Sacramento. 

Supt.  E.  S.  Carr Chairman. 

Chas  H.  Allen San  Jose. 

John  Swett San  Francisco. 

Miss  M.  J.  "Watson Sacramento. 

Mrs.  Mary  E.  Michener Sacramento. 


226  PRESENT  CONDITION   OF  THE   SCHOOL   SYSTEM. 

IV.    COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENTS. 
Holding  office  from  the  first  Monday  in  March,  1876,  to  March,  1878, 

COUNTIES.  NAMES.  POBT-OFFICK. 

Alarneda Rev.  W.  F.  B.  Lynch East  Oakland. 

Alpine R.  H.  Ford Silver  Mountain. 

Amador W.  H.  Stowers Plymouth. 

Butte Arthur  McDermott Oroville. 

Calaveras  Charles  R.   Beal San  Andreas. 

Colusa Samuel  Houchens Princeton. 

Contra  Costa A.  Thurber Pacheco. 

Del    Norte Max  Lipowitz Crescent  City. 

El  Dorado John  P.  Munson Placerville. 

Fresno R.  H.  Bramlet Fresno. 

Humboldt E .  C.  Cummings Rohnerville. 

Inyo John  W.  Symmes Independence - 

Kern L.    A.   Beardsley Bakersfield. 

Lake Louis  Wallace Lakeport. 

Lassen , S.  A.  Doyle Long  Valley. 

Los  Angeles Thomas  A.  Saxon Los  Angeles. 

Marin  Samuel  Saunders San  Raf ael. 

Mariposa Richard  Kane Mariposa. 

Mendocino John  C.  Ruddock Ukiah. 

Merced B.  F.  Fowler Merced. 

Modoc W.  T.  Estes Cedarville. 

Mono Miss   Alice  Walker Bridgeport. 

Monterey R.  C.  McCroskey Salinas  City. 

Napa  L.  Fellers Napa  City. 

Nevada E.  M.  Preston Nevada  City. 

Placer Eugene   Calvin Auburn. 

Plumas W.  S.  Church La  Porte. 

Sacramento F.  L.  Landes Sacramento. 

San  Benito H.  Z.  Morris Hollister. 

San  Bernardino Charles  R.  Paine San  Bernardino. 

San  Diego F.  N~  Pauley San  Diego. 

San  Francisco H.  N.  Bolander San  Francisco. 

San  Joaquin S.  G.  S.  Duubar Stockton. 

San  Luis  Obispo J.  M.  Felts , Cambria. 

San  Mateo G.   P.   Hartley Spanishtown.. 

Santa  Barbara G.  E.  Thurmond Carpentaria 

Santa  Clara E.  Rousseau Santa  Clara. 

Santa  Cruz W.  H.  Hobbs Soquel. 

Shasta Mrs.  D.  M.  Coleman Shasta. 

Sierra A.M.  Phalin Port  Wine. 

Sisldyou William  Duenkel Yreka. 

Solano C.  W.  Childs Suisun  City. 

Sonoma A.  C.  McMeans Santa  Rosa. 

Stanislaus W.  B.  Howard Modesto. 

Sutter  M.    C.  Clark Yuba  City. 

Tehama E.  S.  Campbell  Red  Bluff. 

Trinity Mary  N.  Wadleigh Junction  City. 

Tulare R.  P.  Merrill Visalia. 

Tuolumne Rose  E.  Morgan Columbia. 

Ventura F.   S.    S.  Buckman San  Buenaventura. 

Yolo H.  B.  Pendergast Woodland. 

Yuba Th.  H.  Steele Marysville. 


PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL   SYSTEM.  22T 

II.  SCHOOL     REVENUE. 

_  The  school  revenue  is  derived  from  the  following  sources : 

I.  Interest  on  the  State  School  Fund. 
II.  State  School  Tax. 

III.  County  School  Tax. 

IV.  City  School  Tax. 

V.  District  Taxes  voted  at  Special  School  Elections. 

I.  THE  STATE  SCHOOL  FUND  is  derived  from  the  proceeds  of 
the  sales  of  the  500,000  acres  of  land,  granted  by  Congress  to 
the  State,  for  the  purposes  of  internal  improvement,  and  set 
apart  by  the  State  Constitution  as  an  inviolable  school  fund, 
and  from  the  sales  of  the  16th  and  36th  sections  of   township 
lands,  consolidated  into  a  general  State  fund. 

It  amounts  to  $1,737,500,  invested  in  six  per  cent,  and  seven 
per  cent.  State  bonds.  The  Endowment  Fund  of  the  State  Uni 
versity  consists  of  $1,500,000,  yielding  an  annual  revenue  of 
about  $128,000.  , 

II.  A  DIRECT  STATE  PROPERTY  TAX  is  required   to  be  levied 
annually,  sufficient,  with  the  interest  on  the  State  School  Fund, 
to  amount  to  $7  per  census  child,  from  5  to  17  years  of.  age.* 
State  apportionment,  1875,  $1,210,808. 

III.  COUNTY  SCHOOL  TAX.    Eate  determined  by  each  County 
Board  of  Supervisors.     Maximum  rate,  not  to  exceed  50  cents 
on  each  $100.     Minimum  rate,  not  less  than  $3  per  each  census- 
child.     Amount  of  County  Taxes,  1875,  $1,115,530. 

IV.  CITY  SCHOOL  TAX.     The  rate  is   determined,    in   some 
cases,  by  the  Board  of  Education,  and  in  others,  by  the  Com 
mon  Councils,  or  Boards  of  Supervisors.     In  San  Francisco, 
the  amount  required   is    $35   per  child,  on  the  average  daily 
attendance  for  the  preceding  school  year.     Amount  raised  by 
City  Tax,  1875,  $391,364. 

V.  THE  DISTRICT  TAXES  are  voted  at  special  school  elections, 
generally  for  building  purposes.     Maximum  rate,  $1  on  each 
$100.     Amount  raised  in  1875,  $315,000.     Total  School  Beve- 
nue,    1875,    $3,390,359.     Total   amount   expended   for   Public 
Schools,  from  1850  to  1876  inclusive,  $25,000,000. 


228  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE   SCHOOL   SYSTEM. 

III.     GENERAL   PROVISIONS    OF  THE   SCHOOL   LAW. 
AETICLE    X. 

SCHOOLS. 
SECTION  1662.  Who  may  be  admitted  to. 

1663.  Schools  to  be  graded. 

1664.  To  be  taught  in  the  English  language. 

1665.  Course  of  instruction. 

1666.  Other  studies. 

1667.  Instruction  in  manners,  etc. 

1668.  Physical  exercise,  etc. 

1669.  Schools  for  Negro  and  Indian  children. 

1670.  How  established. 

1671.  Governed  by  same  rules  as  schools  for  whites. 

1672.  Sectarian  books  and  teachings  prohibited. 

1673.  Duration  of  daily  sessions. 

SEC.  1662.  Every  school,  unless  otherwise  provided  by  special 
statute,  must  be  open  for  the  admission  of  all  white  children  be 
tween  five  and  twenty-one  years  of  age,  residing  in  the  district;  and 
the  Board  of  Trustees  or  Board  of  Education  have  power  to  admit 
adults,  and  children  not  residing  in  the  district,  whenever  good 
reasons  exist  therefor. 

SEC.  1663.  All  schools,  unless  otherwise  provided  by  special  stat 
ute,  must  be  divided  into  first,  second,  and  third  grade.  Each 
County  Superintendent  must,  under  instructions  from  the  State  Board 
of  Education,  determine  the  respective  grade  or  class  of  schools  in 
his  county. 

SEC.  1664.  All  schools  must  be  taught  in  the  English  language. 

SEC.  1665.  Instruction  must  be  given  in  the  following  branches — 
in  the  several  grades  in  which  each  may  be  required — viz:  reading, 
writing,  orthography,  arithmetic,  geography,  grammar,  history  of 
the  United  States,  physiology,  natural  philosophy,  natural  history, 
elements  of  form,  vocal  music,  and  industrial  drawing. 

SEC.  1666.  Other  studies  may  be  authorized  by  the  State  Board  of 
Education,  or  Board  of  Education  of  any  city,  or  city  and  county; 
but  no  such  studies  can  be  pursued  to  the  neglect  or  exclusion  of 
the  studies  in  the  preceding  section  specified. 

SEC.  1667.  Instruction  must  be  given  in  all  grades  of  schools, 
and  in  all  classes,  during  the  entire  school  course,  in  manners  and 
morals. 

SEC.  1668.  Attention  must  be  given  to  such  physical  exercises  for 
""the  pupils,  as  may  be  conducive  to  health  and  vigor  of  body,  as  well 
as  mind,  and  to  the  ventilation  and  temperature  of  school  rooms. 

SEC.  1669.  The  education  of  children  of  African  descent,  and  of 
Indian  children,  must  be  provided  for  in  separate  schools;  provided, 
that  if  the  directors  or  trustees  fail  to  provide  such  separate  schools, 
then  such  children  must  be  admitted  into  the  schools  for  white 
children. 

SEC.  1670.  Upon  the  written  application  of  the  parents  or  guar 
dians  of  such  children,  to  any  Board  of  Trustees  or  Board  of  Edu 
cation,  a  separate  school  must  be  established  for  the  education  of 
such  children. 


PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.  229 

V~       — ---  •   —  - 

SEC.  1671.  The  same  laws,  rules,  and  regulations,  which  apply  to 
schools  for  white  children,  apply  to  schools  for  colored  children. 

SEC.  1672.  No  publication  of  a  sectarian,  partisan,  or  demonina- 
tional  character,  must  be  used  or  distributed  in  any  school,  or  be 
made  a  part  of  any  school  library;  nor  must  any  sectarian  or  denomi 
national  doctrine  be  taught  therein.  Any  school  district,  town,  or 
city,  the  officers  of  which  knowingly  allow  any  schools  to  be  taught 
in  violation  of  these  provisions,  forfeits  all  right  to  any  State  or 
county  apportionment  of  school  moneys;  and,  upon  satisfactory  evi 
dence  of  such  violation,  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction 
and  School  Superintendent  must  withhold  both  State  and  county 
apportionments. 

SEC.  1673.  No  school  must  be  continued  in  session  more  than  six: 
hours  a  day;  and  no  pupil  under  eight  years  of  age  must  be  kept 
in  school  more  than  four  hours  per  day.  Any  violation  of  the  pro 
visions  of  this  section  must  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  a  vio 
lation  of  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  section. 

ARTICLE  XI. 

PUPILS. 

SECTION  1683.  Pupils,  how  admitted. 

1684.  Must  submit  to  regulations. 

1685.  Suspension  and  expulsion  of. 

1686.  Defacing  school  property,  liabilities  for. 

1687.  Experienced  teachers  for  beginners. 

SEC.  1683.  Pupils  must  be  admitted  into  the  schools  in  the  order 
in  which  they  apply  to  be  registered. 

SEC.  1684.  All  pupils  must  comply  with  the  regulations,  pursue 
the  required  course  of  study,  and  submit  to  the  authority  of  the 
teachers  of  said  schools. 

SEC.  1685.  Continued  willful  disobedience,  or  open  defiance  of 
the  authority  of  the  teacher,  constitutes  good  cause  for  expulsion 
from  school;  and  habitual  profanity  and  vulgarity,  good  cause  for 
suspension  from  school. 

SEC.  1686.  Any  pupil  who  cuts,  defaces,  or  otherwise  injures  any 
school  house,  fences,  or  outbuildings  thereof,  is  liable  to  suspension 
or  expulsion;  and  on  the  complaint  of  the  teacher  or  trustees,  the 
parents  or  guardians  of  such  pupils  shall  be  liable  for  all  damages. 

SEC.  1687.  In  cities  having  graded  schools,  beginners  shall  be 
taught,  for  the  first  two  years,  by  teachers  who  have  had  at  least 
four  years  experience;  and  such  teachers  shall  rank,  in  point  of 
salary,  with  those  of  first  grade. 

ARTICLE  XII. 

TEACHERS. 

SECTIOK  1696.  General  duties  of  teachers. 

1697.  School  month,  in  relation  to  salary  of  teachers,  defined. 

1698.  Appeal  allowed  from  order  removing  teacher  for  incompetency. 

1699.  Appeals  in  other  cases. 

1700.  No  warrant  to  be  drawn  in  favor  of  a  teacher  unless  he  performs 

his  duties. 

1701.  Nor  unless  he  hold  certificate,  and  was  employed. 

1702.  Teacher's  duty  in  regard  to  teaching  morality,  etc. 


230  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 

SEC.  1696.  Every  teacher  in  the  public  schools  must: 

First — Before  assuming  charge  of  a  school,  file  his  certificate  with 
the  County  Superintendent; 

Second — On  taking  charge  of  a  school,  or  on  closing  a  term  of 
school,  immediately  notify  the  County  Superintendent  of  such 
fact; 

Third — Enforce  the  course  of  study,  the  use  of  text-books,  and 
the  rules  and  regulations  prescribed  for  schools; 

Fourth — Hold  pupils  to  strict  account  for  disorderly  conduct  on 
the  way  to  and  from  school,  on  the  play-ground,  or  during  recess; 
suspend,  for  good  cause,  any  pupil  in  the  school,  and  report  such 
suspension  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  or  Education  for  review.  If 
such  action  is  not  sustained  by  them,  the  teacher  may  appeal  to  the 
County  Superintendent,  whose  decision  shall  be  final; 

Fifth — Keep  a  State  school  register; 

Sixth — Make  an  annual  report  to  the  County  Superintendent  at 
the  time,  and  in  the  manner,  and  on  the  blanks  prescribed  by  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  Any  school  teacher  who 
shall  end  any  school  term  before  the  close  of  the  school  year,  shall 
make  a  report  to  the  County  Superintendent,  immediately  after  the 
close  of  such  term;  and  any  teacher  who  maybe  teaching  any  school 
at  the  end  of  the  school  year,  shall,  in  his  or  her  annual  report, 
include  all  statistics  for  the  entire  school  year,  notwithstanding  any 
previous  report  for  a  part  of  the  year; 

Seventh — Make  such  other  reports  as  may  be  required  by  the  Su 
perintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  County  Superintendent,  or  Board 
of  Trustees  or  Education. 

SEC.  1697.  A  school  month  is  construed  and  taken  to  be  twenty 
school  days,  or  four  weeks  of  five  school  days  each. 

SEC.  1698.  In  case  of  the  dismissal  of  any  teacher  before  the  ex 
piration  of  any  written  contract,  entered  info  between  such  teacher 
and  Board  of  Trustees,  for  alleged  unfitness,  or  incompetence,  or 
violation  of  rules,  the  teacher  may  appeal  to  the  School  Superin 
tendent;  and  if  the  Superintendent  decides  that  the  removal  was 
made  without  good  cause,  the  teacher  so  removed  must  be  reinstated. 

SEC.  1699.  Any  teacher  whose  salary  is  withheld  may  appeal  to  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

SEC.  1700.  No  warrant  must  be  drawn  in  favor  of  any  teacher, 
unless  the  officer  whose  duty  it  is  to  draw  such  warrant  is  satisfied 
that  the  teacher  has  faithfully  performed  all  the  duties  prescribed  in 
section  sixteen  hundred  and  ninety-six. 

SEC.  1701.  No  warrant  must  be  drawn  in  favor  of  any  teacher, 
unless  such  teacher  is  the  holder  of  a  proper  certificate,  in  force  for 
the  full  time  for  which  the  warrant  is  drawn,  nor  unless  he  was  em- 
plo}red  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  or  Education;  provided,  that 
nothing  in  this  section  shall  interfere  with  any  special  school  laws 
now  in  existence  for  the  counties  of  Trinity,  Shasta,  or  Inyo. 

SEC.  1702.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  teachers  to  endeavor  to  im 
press  on  the  minds  of  the  pupils  the  principles  of  moralit}r,  truth, 
justice,  and  patriotism;  to  teach  them  to  avoid  idleness,  profanity, 
and  falsehood,  and  to  instruct  them  in  the  principles  of  a  free  gov- 
ernme^it,  and  to  train  them  up  to  a  true  comprehension  of  the  rights, 
duties,  and  dignity  of  American  citizenship. 


PRESENT   CONDITION   OF  THE   SCHOOL   SYSTEM.  231 

AKTICLE  XIII. 

DISTRICT  LIBRARIES. 

SECTION  1712.  Library  Fund,  how  expended. 

1713.  Of  what  Fund  consists. 

1714.  Same. 

1715.  Control  and  location  of  library. 

1716.  Who  may  use. 

1717.  Accountability  of  trustees  for  care  of  library. 

SEC.  1712.  The  Boards  of  Trustees  and  Education  must  expend 
the  Library  Fund,  together  with  such  moneys  as  may  be  added 
thereto  by  donation,  in  the  purchase  of  school  apparatus,  and  books 
for  a  school  library. 

SEC.  1713.  Except  in  cities  not  divided  into  school  districts,  the 
Library  Fund  consists  of  ten  per  cent,  of  the  State  School  Fund, 
annually  apportioned  to  the  district,  unless  ten  per  cent,  exceed 
fifty  dollars,  in  which  event  it  consists  of  fifty  dollars,  annually  taken 
from  the  fund  so  apportioned. 

SEC.  1714.  In  cities  not  divided  into  school  districts,  the  Library 
Fund  consists  of  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars  for  every  five  hundred 
children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen  years,  annually  taken 
from  the  State  School  Fund  apportioned  to  the  city. 

SEC.  1715.  Libraries  are  under  the  control  of  the  Board  of  Trus 
tees  or  Education,  and  must  be  kept,  when  practicable,  in  the  school 
houses. 

SEC.  1716.  The  library  is  free  to  all  pupils  of  a  suitable  age,  be 
longing  to  the  school;  and  any  resident  of  the  district  may  become 
entitled  to  its  privileges  by  the  payment  of  such  a  sum  of  money  for 
life  membership,  or  such  annual  or  monthly  fee  as  may  be  pre 
scribed  by  the  trustees. 

SEC.  1717.  The  trustees  shall  be  held  accountable  for  the  proper 
care  and  preservation  of  the  library,  and  shall  have  power  to  assess 
and  collect  all  fines,  penalties,  and  fees  of  membership,  and  to  make 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations,  not  provided  for  by  the  State 
Board  of  Education,  and  not  inconsistent  therewith;  and  they  shall 
report  annually  to  the  County  Superintendent,  all  library  statistics 
which  may  be  required  by  the  blanks  furnished  for  the  purpose 
by  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction. 

IV.     CLASSIFICATION  OF  SCHOOLS. 

I.  State  University. 
II.  State  Normal  School.  * 

III.  High  Schools. 

IV.  Summary. 

I.  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. — Location,  Berkeley,  five 
miles  from  Oakland.  Value  of  buildings,  grounds,  etc.,  $500,- 
000.  The  University  embraces  seven  courses  of  study,  com 
monly  called  "Colleges,"  namely:  In  Science — Agriculture, 
Mechanics,  Engineering,  Chemistry,  Mining,  and  Medicine. 
In  Letters — Classical  and  Literary. 


232 


PRESENT   CONDITION   OF   THE   SCHOOL   SYSTEM. 


It  is  a  free  institution,  open  to  young  men  and  young  women. 
The  number  of  students  in  attendance  from  the  beginning  is  as 
follows : 


YEAES. 

Science. 

Letters. 

Special    and 
at  large. 

Total. 

Ladies. 

18(59-70  

14 

21 

5 

40 

1870-71. 

28 

24 

26 

78 

y 

1871-72 

75 

28 

50 

153 

97 

1872-73. 

93 

44 

48 

185 

39 

1873-74  

100 

44 

47 

191 

22 

1874-75. 

90 

76 

65 

237 

40 

1875-76.  

162 

139 

65 

366 

II.  STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. — Value  of  buildings,  grounds, 
etc.,  $350,000.  Free  to  both  men  and  women.  Number  of 
students,  1876,  325.  Annual  appropriation  for  support,  $23,000. 


III.  HIGH  SCHOOLS. - 
are  as  follows : 


-The  principal  High  Schools  in  the  State 


Pupils. 


1.  San  Francisco,  Girls'  High 650 

2.  San  Francisco,  Boys'  High 25p 


Oakland,  Boys'  and  Girls 


Sacramento,  Boys'  and  G  rls'  High 101 


Stockton, 
Los  Angeles, 
Marysville, 

8.  Santa  Clara, 

9.  Vallejo, 

10.  San  Jose, 

11.  Petaluma, 

12.  Grass  Valley, 

13.  Nevada, 

14.  Santa  Cruz, 

15.  Alameda, 


High. 


135 


65 
57. 
21 

1& 
77. 
25. 
52 
20 
2Q 
25. 
15 


Total..  .  1532 


Teachers. 

21 
8 
4 
4 
2 
2 
1 
1 
2 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 

52 


In  addition  to  the  pupils  in  the  schools  specially  classed  as 
"High  Schools,"  there  are  about  1,800  pupils  in  "First  Grade 
Schools,"  pursuing  an  advanced,  or  partial,  high  school  course. 

SUMMARY  OF  CLASSIFICATION,  1875. 

Number  enrolled  in  State  University 366 

Number  enrolled  in  State  Normal  School 350 

Number  enrolled  in  the  High  Schools,  or  the  Advanced  Grade  3,243 

Number  enrolled  in  Grammar,  or  First  Grade    Schools 16,177 

Number  enrolled  in  Intermediate,  or  Second  Grade  Schools .  .  .  30,820 
Number  enrolled  in  Primary,  or  Third  Grade  Schools 79,532 

Total..  .130,488 


PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.  233 

V.    SUMMARY  OF  SCHOOL  STATISTICS,  1875. 
Population  of  California  (estimated)  800,000. 

Number  of  children  between  5  and  17 171,563 

Number  that  attended  school   116,896 

Average  daily  attendance  in  public  schools 78,027 

Attendance  at  private  schools 15,000 

CLASSIFICATION. 

1.  Attending  State  University 366 

2.  Attending  State  Normal  School 350 

3.  Attending  high  schools,  or  in  "  advanced  grades" 3,243 

4.  Attending  grammar  schools    16,177 

5.  Attending  intermediate  on  second  grade  school 30,820 

6.  Attending  primary  or  third  grade  schools 79,532 

SCHOOLS  AND  TEACHERS. 

Number  of  school  districts    e 1,579 

Number  of  schools 2,190 

Number  of  male  teachers 1,033 

Number  of  female  teachers 1,660 

Average  length  of  school  in  months 7.47 

Number  of  teachers,  graduates  of  some  normal  school 275 

TEACHERS  HOLDING  STATE  CERTIFICATES. 

1.  Holding  life  diplomas 292 

2.  Holding  educational  diplomas 421 

3.  Holding  first  grade  certificates   615 

4.  Holding  second  grade  certificates 210 

Total 1,538 

5.  Number    of   graduates  of  the   California   State   Normal 

School  now  teaching 240 

SALARIES. 

Average  monthly  salary  paid  men $84  93 

Average  monthly  salary  paid  women 68  00 

Average  annual  salary  paid  men 672  00 

Average  annual  salary  paid  women     543  00 

Annual  cost  per  scholar  in  average  daily  attendance 28  67 

Annual  cost  of  tuition  per  scholar  in  average  daily  attend 
ance  21  59 

15 


234  PEESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 

FINANCIAL. 

RECEIPTS. 

Balance  on  hand  at  the  beginning  of  the  school  year  $387,761  11 

Received  from  State  apportionments 1,210,808  49 

Received  from  county  apportionments 1,115,530  06 

Received  from  city  and  district  taxes 315,682  66 

Received  from  miscellaneous  sources  (sale  of  bonds, 

rents,  etc.)   360,576  98 

Total  receipts  from  all  sources $3,390,359  30 

EXPENDITURES  FOE  SCHOOL  PURPOSES. 

Amount  paid  for  teachers'  salaries 1,810,479  62 

Amount  paid  for  rent,  repairs,  fuel,  and  contingent 

expenses 381,806  62 

Amount  paid  for  school  libraries 33,962  72 

Amount  paid  for  school  apparatus 10,713  02 

Total  current  expenses $2,236,961  98 

Amount  paid  for  sites,  buildings,  and  school  furni 
ture    421,279  36 


Total  expenditures  of  all  kinds   $2,658,241  34 


VALUATION  OF  SCHOOL  PROPERTY. 


Valuation  of  sites,  school  houses,  and  furniture ....    $4,879,328  39 

Valuation  of  school  libraries 138,564  64 

Valuation  of  school  apparatus 50,785  27 


Total  valuation  of  school  property $5,068,678  30 

Total  expenditures  for  school  purposes 

up  to  date $24,542,775  00 


L  *  n R"  I 


T  ~\r  r  T"*'  r  • 

PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM?"  235 

I       P  A  1    *  '  -. 

V    OxijLf!  lf ;  / 

VI.     SCHOOL   STATISTICS   BY   COUNTIES,   1875. 


COUNTIES. 


Census  of 

Children  5  to  17 

years  old. 


Average  daily 
attendance. 


Whole  Number 
Enrolled. 


No.   of 
Teachers. 


Alameda 9,330 

Alpine 85 

Amador 2,381 

Butte 3,481 

Calaveras 2,216 

Colusa 2,346 

Contra  Costa 3,047 

Del  Norte 448 

El  Dorado 2,335 

Fresno 1,398 

Humboldt 2,863 

Inyo 397 

Kern 997 

Lake 1,369 

Lasseii 667 

Los  Angeles 7,787 

Marin 1,647 

Mariposa  930 

Mendocino 2,808 

Merced 1,171 

Modoc 846 

Mono 112 

Monterey 3,286 

Napa 2,822 

Nevada 4,705 

Placer 2,519 

Plnmas 834 

Sacramento 6,482 

San   Benito 1,456 

San  Bernardino 1,971 

San  Diego 1,834 

San  Francisco 41,021 

San  Joaquin 5,212 

San  Luis  Obispo 2,012 

San  Mateo 2,340 

Santa  Barbara  2,282 

Santa  Clara 8,410 

Santa   Cruz 3,212 

Shasta 1,517 

Sierra 1,115 

Siskiyou 1,705 

Solano 4,63Q 

Sonoma 7,003 

Stanislaus 1,909 

Sutter 1,549 

Tehama 1,425 

Trinity 642 

Tulare...    2,837 

Tuolumne 1,872 

Ventura 1,122 

Yolo 2,566 

Yuba 2,609 

Totals  . .  171,563 


4,458 
42 

1,382 

1,537 

1,054 

963 

1,357 

232 

1,248 

457 

1,248 

159 

328 

637 

390 

2,049 

642 

360 

1,243 

527 

441 

57 

1,356 

1,251 

2,356 

1,338 

431 

'2,695 

592 

675 

440 

20,830 

2,897 

679 

815 

608 

3,480 

1,367 

694 

649 

906 

2,229 

3,437 

1,016 

710 

603 

316 

956 

1,058 

388 

1,273 

1,171 


6,261 
69 

2,069 
2,642 
1,702 
1,787 
2,439 

387 
1,995 

939 
2,320 

283 

543 
1,210 

544 
4,237 
1,073 

707 
2,399 
1,119 

604 

102 
2,415 
2,111 
3,774 
2/262 

738 
4,785 
1,037 
1,375 

818 
32,075 
5,620 
1,134 
1,439 
1,229 
5,786 
2,426 
1,205 

969 
1,387 
3,594 
5,900 
1,813 
1,423 
1,107 

443 
1,992 
1,577 

842 
2,156 
2,067 


121 
4 
39 
62 
38 
43 
69 
10 
44 
30 
60 
9 

14 
27 
14 
72 
28 
16 
52 
26 
24 
5 

44 
78 
63 
52 
23 

106 
22 
22 
25 

507 
93 
26 
37 
22 

105 
47 
33 
25 
39 
78 

132 
46 
38 
29 
17 
42 
28 
16 
53 
48 


78,027 


130,930 


2,693 


236  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 


VII.  RESUME  OF  THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOLS. 

1.  BUILDINGS. — In  general,  the  school  houses  are  comfortable, 
are  furnished  with  modern  styles  of  desks,  and  fairly  supplied 
with  maps,  charts,  and  simple  school  apparatus. 

2.  LENGTH  OF  SCHOOL. — The  average  length  of  school  is  7J 
months  in  the  year,  an  average  exceeded  by  only  two  or  three 
States  in  the  Union.     There  were  only  34  schools  in  which  the 
length  of  term  was  less  than  6  months.     In  nearly.  800  districts 
the  length  of  term  exceeded  8  months.     The  provision  in  mak 
ing  the  county  apportionment  by  which  the  minimum  amount 
for   each   school,   however   small,    is   $500,    has   extended  the 
means  of  education  to  the  most  remote  settlements. 

3.  TEACHERS. — Of  the  2800  teachers,  240,  or  nearly  one  tenth, 
are  graduates  of  the  California  State  Normal  School.     There 
are  21)2  holders  of  life  diplomas;  that  is,  about  one  tenth,  who 
may  be   ranked   as    "professionals."      There    are   about  400 
holders  of  educational  diplomas  who  have  had  at  least  5  years' 
experience.     In  all,   about  one  third  of  the  teachers  may  be 
considered    skilled   in    their  profession,    the    remaining   two 
thirds  being  mainly  made  up  of  "  raw  recruits." 

4.  INSTRUCTION. — There  is  a  good  course  of  study  laid  out  by 
the  State  Board  of  Education;  but,  of  course,  this  is  carried 
out  in  the  country  districts  to  a  very  limited  extent  only.     In  a 
majority  of  the   schools,   the   teaching   consists   of  text-book 
recitations,  with  little  or  no  instruction  by  the  teacher. 

5.  LIBRARIES. — Each  school  is  supplied  with  a  small  library, 
purchased  by  an  annual  appropriation  of  10  per  cent,  of  the 
State  appropriation,  not  to  exceed  $50  yearly.     The  amount 
expended  last  year  was  about  $50,000. 

The   libraries    constitute    one   of   the   best  features   of    the 
system. 

6.  SECULAR  INSTRUCTION. — "With  a  few  unimportant  exceptions, 
the  schools  are  purely  secular.     The  provisions  of  the  State 
law  are  generally  interpreted  to   exclude   the   reading  of  the 
Bible  and  prayer.     In  the  State  University,  in  the  schools  of 


PRESENT  CONDITION  OP  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.  237 

San  Francisco,  Oakland,  and  most  other  cities,  and  in  most  of 
the  country  districts,  there  are  no  religious  exercises  whatever. 
The  State  Normal  School  is  the  only  notable  exception; 
there,  the  school  is  opened  with  prayer  and  the  reading  of 
the  Bible. 

7.  DEFECTS. — There  are  two  weak  points  in  the  system.     1. 
The  short  terms  of  school  officers.     2.  The  frequent  change 
of  teachers. 

Everywhere,  except  in  San  Francisco,  the  New  England 
system  of  electing  teachers  annually  is  in  full  force  and  effect. 
Hence,  a  majority  of  the  teachers  are  "  circuit  teachers." 

The  frequent  change  of  school  officers  renders  uniform  and 
steady  progress  out  of  the  question. 

The  most  notable  defect  in  the  instruction  given  in  the 
schools  is  the  lack  of  thorough  mental  training,  the  work  of  the 
pupils  consisting  largely  in  memorizing  text-book  recitations. 

The  reforms  of  the  next  century  will  consist  in  the  employ 
ment  of  skilled  teachers,  in  common  sense  methods  of  teach- 
iDg,  and  in  the  adaptation  of  courses  of  study  to  industrial 
pursuits. 

8.  EXPENSES. — The   total  amount  expended  for  school  pur 
poses,  during  a  quarter  of  a  century,  is,   in  round  numbers, 
twenty-five  millions  of  dollars.     This  is  the  best  investment  the 
State  has  ever  made.     Had  fifty  millions  been  expended,  the 
State  to-day  would  be  the  richer  for  it.     Men,  not  money,  make 
the  true  wealth  of  a  nation. 

9.  WHAT  WE  NEED. — The  following  extract  from  an  address  by 
Hon.  Ezra  S.  Carr,  before  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  Sep 
tember,  1875,  outlines  a  want  to  be  supplied  during  the  next 
century : 

CHILD    CULTURE. 

Our  progress  during  the  last  six  years  is  due  to  our  increased 
facilities  of  travel  and  transportation.  So  many  are  now  busy  with 
plans  for  increasing  immigration,  that  it  may  be  useful  to  have  one 
voice  directing  the  public  mind  to  the  solution  of  a  more  important 
question,  viz. :  how  to  grow  a  crop  of  sound-bodied,  right-minded, 
clean-hearted  children,  who  will  "  take  to  work  "  as  naturally  and 
kindly  as  a  duck  takes  to  water.  I  hold  that  the  end  of  the  crop  is 
the  eater;  the  end  of  labor  the  betterment  of  the  laborer;  and  that 
human  improvement  is  as  legitimate  a  subject  for  discussion  in  agri- 


238  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 

cultural  societies  as  that  of  colts  or  chickens.  We  have  hitherto  left 
this  subject  pretty  much  to  the  doctors — doctors  of  the  body  and  of 
the  soul — whose  occupation  will  be  gone  when  man  truly  reflects  the 
Divine  image.  And  although  we  need  the  help  of  these  doctors  still 
in  the  work  of  human  improvement,  and  although  we  are  immensely 
indebted  to  them  for  what  has  already  been  accomplished,  I  think  it 
is  better  to  pay  them  for  the  ounce  of  prevention  than  for  the  pound 
of  cure/'  Nature  herself  protests  when  a  lean,  dwarfed  apology  for  a 
man  calls  himself  master  of  the  noble  brute  creatures,  which  have  be 
come  more  than  half  human  in  their  intelligence  and  beauty,  through 
careful  selections,  breeding,  and  nurture. '-'An  organization  like  this, 
having  for  its  object  the  improvement  or  the  farmer,  as  well  as  the 
farm,  will  not  love  a  horse  less  because  it  loves  a  child  more.  The 
interests  of  agriculture  are  bound  up  with  those  of  education,  espe 
cially  in  that  modern  form  of  it  which  is  denominated  "  technical." 
The  farmer's  children  are  "the  best  working  stock  on  the  farm;" 
and"  the  value  of  skill,  intelligence,  and  good  character  applied  there 
is  more  and  more  highly  appreciated.  This  is  the  lowest,  most  ma 
terial  view  of  the  subject,  but  it  is  one  that  the  political  economist 
will  not  overlook.  Do  our  schools,  do  any  of  them,  meet  the  great 
demands  of  agricultural  and  mechanical  industry?  Hundreds  of  the 
best  and  most  progressive  teachers  say  they  do  not;  thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  anxious  parents  say  they  do  not. 

In  a  recent  meeting  of  a  State  agricultural  society  in  the  East,  it 
was  said:  fe  "What  we  want  is  not  mere  culture,  but  culture  applied, 
culture  realized,  culture  put  at  work,  and  demonstrating,  day  by  day, 
its  uses."  The  masses  of  our  people  have  little  time  to  pursue 
branches  of  study  which  have  not  some  direct  bearing  upon  their 
callings  or  avocations.  Aside  from  the  elements,  which  all  should 
receive,  the  importance  of  special  knowledge,  bearing  upon  special 
work,  is  paramount.  Our  system  should  be  changed,  so  that  from 
the  highest  classes  in  the  country  schools  to  the  University,  by  un 
broken  gradations  of  the  most  liberal  training  in  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge  and  skill,  men  and  women  should  be  fitted  worthily  to 
perform  their  appointed  service  in  the  industrial  state. 

It  is  fifteen  years  since  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Agricult 
ure  asked  the  legislature  for  the  passage  of  an  act  authorizing,  as 
the  first  step  in  furnishing  an  agricultural  education  to  the  people — 

FIRST — "  The  engrafting  upon  her  common  school  education  the 
study  of  elementary  geology,  animal  and  vegetable  physiology,  and 
botany;  to  be  taught  in  the  usiial  form,  by  manuals,  with  suitable 
illustrations,  simple  and  inexpensive;  so  prepared  that  it  will  not 
altogether  depend  upon  the  knowledge  of  the  instructor  -to  make 
them  of  use  to  the  learner.  With  a  slight  change  in  their  studies, 
our  children  would  learn  something  which  would  every  day  become 
more  deeply  implanted  in  their  minds  by  what  they  see  going  on 
around  them."  "  These  studies,"  they  said,  "  cannot  be  commenced 
too  early,  for  they  are  the  germs  of  all  future  development,  the 
vitality  of  which  is  never  lost;  they  must  be  planted  early  if  it  is 
hoped  to  reach  a  full  harvest." 

SECOND — They  asked  for  an  agricultural  school  with  a  farm  attached 
to  it,  where  the  practice  of  agriculture  in  its  several  departments, 


PKESENT  CONDITION   OF   THE   SCHOOL   SYSTEM.  239 

and  the  best  methods  of  farm  management  could  be  practically 
learned.  The  committee,  among  whom  I  find  the  names  of  Marshal 
P.  Wilder  and  George  B.  Loring,  said:  "If  a  person,  who  had  the 
ability  to  perform  whatever  he  undertook,  should  offer  to  the  people 
of  this  commonwealth  a  secret,  by  which  in  twenty  years  the  pro 
ductive  value  of  the  lands  throughout  the  whole  State  would  be 
doubled,  what  would  that  secret  be  worth  ?  The  diffusion  of  general 
agricultural  education  would  accomplish  that  object;  nay,  go  far 
beyond  it,  in  less  time  than  has  been  named,  and  at  an  expense 
that  would  be  trifling  in  proportion  to  the  benefits  that  would  flow 
from  it." 

Other  States  have  taken  similar  action.  The  farmers  of  the  West 
have  recommended  a  revision  of  the  school  course,  with  this  object 
in  view. 

In  Illinois,  an  able  defender  of  industrial  education  said:  "We 
take  the  child  out  of  God's  natural  industrial  university  and  send 
him  to  school,  where,  at  best,  only  a  fraction  of  his  entire  manhood 
can  be  properly  developed;  and,  after  all,  we  do  not  fit  pupils  for 
actual  life,  even  in  those  elemental  studies  after  forty  weeks'  school 
per  annum,  as  well  as  they  were  fitted  in  ten  weeks,  half  a  century 
ago.  One  prime  cause  of  this  is,  that  the  bookmakers  and  publishers 
have  assumed  about  as  absolute  control  of  our  public  schools  as  the 
politicians  have  of  our  post-offices.  Rich  publishing  houses  have 
offered  as  high  as  $70,000  for  the  introduction  of  a  single  text-book 
into  a  State.  And  yet  not  one  of  those  books  teaches  us  the  things 
which  it  is  our  chief  interest  to  know,  and  our  protracted  school 
drill  leaves  little  time  for  anything  else." 

"I  wish,"  says  Professor  Turner,  "to  make  room  for  some  of  the 
subjects  which  underlie  the  industrial  arts,  botany,  entomology,  and 
zoology,  for  instance.  The  State  of  Illinois  spends,  say  $12,000,000 
a  year  on  her  public  schools,  and  loses  from  $10,000,000  to  $20,000,- 

000  from  obnoxious  insects.     Now,  I  would  have  every  one  of  these 
insects,  about  a  hundred  in  all,  with  pins  in  their  backs,  put  up  in 
a  show-case  in  every  public  school  in  the  State;  and  I  would  have 
every  child  know  them  as  well  as  he  knows  his  father's  cows  and 
horses;  instead  of  having  one  or  two  lone  men  looking  after  them, 

1  would  turn  millions  of  intelligent  young  eyes  upon  them,  and 
thus  prepare  for  their  extermination.     I  would  have  this,  whether 
the  child  knew  there  was   such  a  word  as  '  en-tom-ol-o-gy '  or  not ! 

"The  hard-working  American  people  want  to  know  something 
about  our  continent — our  life-work,  our  bodies,  and  bones,  and 
souls,  our  duties  and  destinies  in  the  great  republic  in  which  we 
live. 

"  I  look  upon  the  agricultural  classes  to  lift  us  out  of  this  monkey- 
dom  of  precedent,  into  the  true  freedom  of  American  citizenship. 
All  that  is  needed  is  that  every  man  should  quietly  set  about  im 
proving  his  own  school,  in  his  own  district,  as  fast  and  as  fully  as 
he  can." 

I  shall  make  no  apology  for  quoting  these  educational  authorities. 
I  warn  all  those  classes  who  do  not  believe  in  industrial  education, 
that  Broderick's  words  are  fast  coming  to  be  true,  that — 


240  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE   SCPIOOL  SYSTEM. 


The  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  in  Connecticut, 
Mr.  Northrop  (and  he  has  been  saying  these  things  from  that  office 
a  good  many  years),  says:  "  Every  child's  education  is  deficient  who 
has  not  learned  to  work  at  some  useful  form  of  industry.  Labor 
aids  in  disciplining  the  intellect,  and  energizing  the  character. 
Especially  does  farm  work  task  and  test  the  mind,  leading  a  boy  to 
plan  and  contrive  to  adapt  means  to  ends.  With  all  our  improved 
gymnastics,  none  is  better  than  manual  labor,  cheerfully  and  intelli 
gently  performed,  especially  farm  work.  The  ambition  for  easier 
lives,  and  more  genteel  employments,  and  the  silly  but  common  no 
tion  that  labor  is  menial,  that  the  tools  of  the  trades  and  the  farms 
are  badges  of  servility,  have  greatly  lessened  apprenticeships,  and 
ought  to  be  refuted  in  our  common  schools. 

"Our  youth  should  there  be  taught  the  dignity  and  necessity  of 
labor,  and  its  vital  relations  to  all  human  excellence  and  progress, 
the  evils  of  indolence,  the  absurdity  of  the  present  fashion  for  city 
life,  and  the  wide-spread  aversion  to  manual  labor.  A  practical 
knowledge  of  some  industrial  pursuit  is  an  important  element  in 
intellectual  culture." 

I  fully  indorse  these  sentiments.  "  "Whatever  you  would  have  ap 
pear  in  a  nation's  life  must  be  put  into  its  schools/'  is  a  Prussian 
motto,  and  we  put  the  same  idea  into  section  1702  of  our  code, 
which  makes  it  "the  duty  of  teachers  to  instruct  pupils  to  avoid 
idleness,  and  to  train  them  to  a  comprehension  of  the  rights,  duties, 
and  dignity  of  American  citizenship."  But  Prussia  enforces  her 
principles  in  the  most  universal  system  of  "real,"  or  technical 
schools,  which  turn  out  able  young  farmers,  carpenters,  black 
smiths,  and  housekeepers,  and  nurses,  while  with  us  it  all  ends  in  an 
admonition  to  "avoid idleness." 

The  State  must  go  further  than  this;  it  must  fit  its  children  for 
their  places  in  the  industrial  ranks.  The  nation  has  two  technical 
schools — one  for  training  of  navy,  the  other  of  army,  officers.  Each 
State  has  one  for  the  training  of  teachers,  and  a  few  have  real  train 
ing  schools  or  colleges  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  If 
these  are  what  they  should  be,  they  will  do  for  those  pursuits  what 
West  Point  and  Annapolis  do  for  the  army  and  navy,  viz. :  make 
men  who  are  proud  of  their  business.  I  wish  some  of  the  kid  glove 
gentry  who  think  the  base-ball  club  and  the  boating  club  furnishes 
a  more  dignified  employment  for  the  muscles  of  our  young  men 
than  manual  labor,  could  have  been  with  me  at  the  annual  examina 
tion  of  one  of  the  nation's  training  schools,  wThere  high  born  and  low 
born,  without  distinction  of  nationality  or  religion,  learn — what? 
To  scrub  a  deck,  to  furl  a  sail,  to  use  every  tool  in  the  carpenter's 
shop,  in  the  blacksmith's  shop,  to  make  and  to  mend  everything 
that  belongs  to  a  ship,  to  be  considerate,  gentlemanly,  orderly,  to 
command  themselves  and  others,  to  obey,  to  love  their  country's 
flag,  and  to  die  for  it  without  a  murmur,  to  go  down  with  the  ship 
if  need  be — all  this  while  they  learn  everything  that  is  required  in 
literature  and  science  for  an  education  of  the  first  class. 

And  must  one  be  a  soldier,  or  a  sailor,  to  be  thus  furnished  for 


PEESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 

his  countiy's  service,  for  bis  own  service  in  the  industrial  state  ? 
Shall  a  man  be  trained  in  all  manliness  to  walk  the  quarter  deck, 
worthy  of  all  obedience  because  he  understands  what  he  requires, 
and  has  himself  performed,  not  once,  but  a  thousand  times,  all  that 
he  exacts  from  subordinates;  and  may  he  not  have  an  equal  train 
ing  for  the  post  of  foreman  in  a  mechanic's  shop,  for  the  manage 
ment  of  his  own  broad  acres,  and  the  laborers  he  requires  to  culti 
vate  them  ?  Do  you  suppose  they  would  put  a  man  in  charge  of 
the  Naval  Academy,  or  tolerate  a  single  professor  in  West  Point, 
who  thought  practical  education  in  war  and  navigation  would  prove 
"  a  failure" — was,  at  best,  a  doubtful  experiment?  No;  that  isn't 
the  way  they  manage.  Those  old  admirals  and  army  officers  are 
seamen  and  soldiers  through  and  through,  from  boots  to  buttons; 
they  believe  in  their  business.  The  men  who  lead  in  industrial 
education  must  believe  in  it  also. 

The  kind  of  education  wanted  to-day  is  not  that  which  has  passed 
current,  and  which  has  proved  a  dead  failure  in  making  a  generation 
of  nobler  youth,  stronger  in  body,  clearer  in  mind,  and  firmer  in 
conscience,  than  the  half-schooled  frontier  gave  us  a  hundred  years 
ago.  Don't  take  this  on  my  authority,  but  look  through  the  Gov 
ernors'  messages  and  State  Superintendents'  reports.  Why,  only 
last  year  the  Education  Committee  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 
said:  "  The  public  school  system  of  Massachusetts  fails  to  meet  the 
demands  of  modern  civilization."  Why  and  how?  Civilization 
now  demands  skilled,  intelligent  labor;  and,  as  Scott  Russell  says, 
"Occupations  which  require  no  skill,  but  only  brute  force,  will 
necessarily  be  vacated  by  human  hands."  The  substitution  of 
steam  culture  for  hand  labor  has  thrown  thousands  of  English 
workmen  out  of  employment. 

"  Society,  in  the  march  of  improvement,  is  as  certain  to  do  with 
out  the  unskilled,  the  unintelligent,  and  uneducated,  as  it  is  to  do 
without  wild  plants  and  animals.  Nor  will  the  laws  be  unjust 
which  forbid  those  who  cannot  create  their  food  to  subsist  on  the 
labor  of  others." 

Governor  Hartranf  t,  of  Pennsylvania,  calls  attention  to  the  scarcity 
of  skilled  labor  in  that  State,  and  says,  that  although  $10,000,000 
are  annually  expended  for  education,  none  of  the  children  who 
complete  their  terms  in  the  public  schools  have  any  special  fitness 
for  trade,  and  few  become  artisans.  He  recommends  schools  where 
boys  can  be  instructed  in  trades,  and  urges  compulsory  education. 
I  might  amplify  this'  testimony  almost  indefinitely,  but  I  turn  to 
other  aspects  of  the  question. 

I  am  not  one  of  those  who  think  a  thing  must  be  good  because 
it  is  baldheaded  with  antiquity.  Education  is  essentially  conserva 
tive.  You  cannot  make  a  move  in  the  way  of  improvement  with 
out  disturbing  somebody,  and  we  shall  have  to  disturb  a  good 
many  people  sitting  in  comfortable  chairs  before  we  get  our  educa 
tional  stream  to  turning  mills  and  grinding  corn. 

While  I  do  not  think  that  bodily  labor  is  specially  desirable  for 
its  own  sake,  I  think  any  scheme  which  leaves  physical  education 
out  of  the  account  is  radically  defective.  If  you  can  have  this  with 
training  in  useful  arts,  so  much  the  better,  but  have  it  wre  must. 


242  PEESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE   SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 

There  was  a  training  in  those  primitive  New  England  times  when  a 
fellow  had  to  lie  down  to  his  Lindley  Murray  before  a  fire  of  pine 
knots,  after  milking  the  cows,  cutting  the  wood,  and  doing  the 
"  chores;"  when  the  girl  added  the  daily  skein  to  the  festoons  of 
yarn  for  the  family  clothing,  which  is  hard  to  get  in  these  days. 
As  soon  as  a  child  was  old  enough  to  pick  up  a  basket  of  chips, 
it  became  an  element  in  the  productive  wealth  of  the  home.  Surely 
it  was  none  the  worse  for  it  to  be  taught  by  the  statutes  of  law 
and  filial  duty  that  service  was  due  for  the  care  and  support  of  its 
helpless  years.  These  views  may  seem  sordid,  but  the  looseness 
with  which  children  grow  up  to  think  their  parents  and  the  rest  of 
the  world  owe  them  a  living  is  filling  our  streets  with  hoodlums 
and  with  animated  fashion  plates,  ready  to  be  blown  away  by  the 
first  ill  wind  of  temptation.  What  is  a  hoodlum?  A  boy  gone  to 
waste,  rotten  before  he  is  ripe,' because  society  does  not  know 
enough  to  preserve  and  economize  him. 

The  education  required  by  a  people  is  not  a  fixed  quantity,  either 
in  kind  or  degree,  and  the  condition  and  circumstances  of  laboring 
men  of  every  class  have  greatly  changed  since  the  idea  of  public  edu 
cation  first  dawned.  Why,  do  you  know  that  the  experiment  is 
historically  so  recent  that  a  good  many  countries  have  not  had  time 
to  make  it  ? 

The  history  of  education  fully  explains  why  it  is  not  more  practi 
cal.  Colleges  and  seminaries  grew  up  out  of  the  monasteries,  which, 
for  a  long  time,  treasured  all  the  learning  there  was  in  the  world. 
Learning  was  a  monopoly;  first  of  the  priest,  then  of  priests  and  the 
nobles,  then  of  these  and  the  judges,  and  finally,  and  not  without 
hard  squeezing,  the  leech  or  doctor  got  into  this  good  company,  and 
then  came  the  printed  Bible  to  carry  the  art  of  reading  wherever 
religious  zeal  could  take  it.  There  was  nothing  but  literature  for 
education  to  use;  it  covered  the  whole  field,  except  mathematics. 
Columbus  invented  geography,  and  Galileo  and  Copernicus  astron 
omy,  long  after  the  great  European  universities  wrere  founded.  In 
England,  where  our  college  system  came  from,  the  aristocratic 
classes  only  were  benefited  by  it,  and  it  suited  them  very  well. 
And  when  the  common  school  got  started,  it  simply  took  a  few  of 
the  first  leaves  out  of  the  college  book.  It  is  not  so  very  long  since 
men  learned  to  read  and  spell  in  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and 
Cambridge.  It  took  several  centuries  of  human  progress  to  bring 
rulers  to  consent  that  common  folks  should  learn  the  alphabet;  and, 
again,  to  get  permission  for  women  to  tamper  with  the  dangerous 
thing.  It  took  a  good  while  to  get  a  spinning-jenny,  and  a  power 
wheel,  and  a  steam  plow;  and  the  education  of  the  Oxford  time 
don't  suit  the  spinning-jenny  age,  as  England  has  learned  to  her 
cost. 

Until  about  the  time  of  the  gold  discovery  in  California,  England 
was  domineering  over  the  rest  of  Europe,  through  her  commercial 
supremacy,  and  her  command  of  the  supplies  of  raw  materials,  which 
enabled  her  to  take  the  lead  in  manufactures.  These  advantages  she 
was  likely  to  retain.  But  France  and  Germany,  by  the  most  mag 
nificent  provisions  for  technical  schools,  set  themselves  to  compete 
with  her  on  her  own  ground  of  manufactures,  and  not  only  dis- 


PRESENT  CONDITION   OF  THE  SCHOOL   SYSTEM.  243 

tanced  her  completely,  but  almost  drove  her  from  the  field.  The 
Exposition  of  '67  proved  that  Germany  could  make  better  steel,  and 
France  better  locomotives;  "  that  England  was  beaten,  not  only  on 
some  points,  but,  by  some  nation,  on  nearly  all  the  points  on  which 
she  had  prided  herself."  The  English  government  then  sent  eighty 
skilled  workmen  over  to  the  Continent,  to  find  out  the  causes  of 
defeat.  The  unanimous  reply  was:  "  Their  industrial  education  has 
caused  it." 

Lord  Stanley  addressed  the  most  careful  inquiries  to  all  the  foreign 
Consuls  in  France,  Prussia,  Saxony,  Switzerland,  Belgium,  and 
got  the  same  answer,  "industrial  education."  And  lately  there 
comes  a  plan  from  England  for  a  national  system  of  industrial  in 
struction  for  the  whole  people,  beginning  in  primary  schools,  and 
ending  in  a  great  "  central  technical  university"  for  training  pro 
fessors  and  teachers  of  institutions  of  lower  rank,  devoted  to  raising 
the  standard  of  industrial  well-being.  Instead  of  believing  that 
money  is  the  root  of  evil,  the  Englishman  believes  it  to  be  the  root 
of  industry,  and  so  of  all  good,  and  this  change  in  the  direction  of 
popular  education  is  due  to  the  lesson  the  English  nation  received 
at  Paris  and  Vienna. 

The  great  natural  advantages  which  we  possess  will  not  give  us 
industrial  supremacy,  unless  we  follow  these  examples.  The  "  In 
ternational  Magazine  "  emphasizes  our  duty  and  our  opportunity  in 
strong  language:  "  With  an  agricultural  wealth  to  which  no  limit 
can  be  assigned,  with  mineral  riches  everywhere  bursting  through 
the  surface,  with  water  power  which  no  mills  can  exhaust;  not  to 
advance,  not  to  rival  the  skilled  industry  of  Europe,  is  not  a  loss 
merely,  it  is  a  crime."  The  California  wheat-grower  and  wool- 
grower  must  compete  in  the  Liverpool  market  with  the  wheat  and 
wool  of  the  world.  Competition,  in  every  branch  of  industry,  has 
become  world- wide,  and  unless  the  American  farmer  and  manufac 
turer  does  his  best,  he  is  sure  to  take  the  lower  place  in  the  world's 
market. 

AYitli  gold  and  silver  mines  that  supply  all  nations,  with  forests 
shading  our  hillsides,  with  flocks,  and  vineyards,  and  great  valleys 
teeming  with  their  abundant  harvests,  we  cannot  be  rich  or  great, 
unless  we  can  compete  in  the  enlightened  employment  of  these 
natural  means  and  forces.  The  experience  of  all  Europe  teaches, 
"  Industrial  supremacy  is  the  prize  of  industrial  education." 

Let  us  lay  the  foundation  of  this  supremacy  in 

OUR    PRIMARY    SCHOOLS. 

Carry  it  forward  by  a  well-devised  system  of  secondary  technical 
schools,  and  complete  it  in  a  University  where  prominence  is  given 
to  different  branches  of  learning,  according  to  the  directness  and 
value  of  these  as  applied  to  the  occupations  and  pursuits  of  our 
people. 

Perhaps  there  was  never  a  time  when  the  relations  of  the  Gov 
ernment  to  education  need  to  be  discussed  so  thoroughly,  and  yet  so 
temperately.  That  universal  intelligence  is  the  only  guarantee  of 
universal  liberty,  is  one  of  the  fundamental  ideas  of  the  American's 
political  faith;  but  the  right  and  duty  of  the  State  to  educate  has 
been  better  stated  in  monarchical  Germany  than  in  republican 


244  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 

America.  The  great  Fichte  said:  "The  end  of  the  State  is  not  only 
to  live,  but  to  live  nobly/'  And  the  clearest  of  writers  upon  the  phi 
losophy  of  education,  Karl  Rosencranz,  said:  "The  idea  that  the 
Government  has  the  right  to  oversee  the  school,  lies  in  the  very  idea 
of  the  State,  which  is  authorized  and  under  obligations  to  secure  the 
education  of  citizens,  and  cannot  leave  their  fashioning  to  chance. 
The  separation  of  the  school  from  the  State  would  be  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  school." 

With  us  it  would  be  the  destruction  of  the  State;  for  here  the  di 
versity  of  the  materials  which  form  the  State,  requires  the  unifying 
influence  of  a  broad  and  comprehensive  system  of  public  education. 

The  work  of  the  State  in  education  may  be  divided  into  three  sec 
tions.  The  first  is  elementary  and  general  (and  should  be  universal 
and  free),  making  every  child  familiar  with  reading,  writing,  draw 
ing  or  picture  writing,  with  elementary  arithmetic  and  natural  his 
tory,  and  with  the  geography  and  history  of  his  own  State  and 
country.  In  the  second  stage,  separation  and  specialization  should 
begin,  which  will  necessarily  grow  and  perfect  itself  with  the  growth 
of  culture,  and  the  more  perfect  organization  of  the  forces  of  civili 
zation.  We  now  specialize  only  in  regard  to  classes  of  unfortunates, 
the  deaf,  dumb,  blind,  etc. ;  by  and  by  we  can  specialize  as  to  uses, 
and  make  our  country  schools  more  preparatory  to  agriculture,  hor 
ticulture,  and  the  like;  while  our  city  schools,  by  vacation  classes, 
half-time  schools,  and  other  agencies,  at  first,  and  afterwards  by 
special  schools,  render  the  same  service  to  the  mechanic  and  manu 
facturing  arts.  The  certainties  of  science  are  swiftly  taking  the 
place  of  the  hap-hazard  pursuit  of  those  arts,  and  a  great  part  of 
secondary  instruction  should  be  in  the  simpler  applications  of  scien 
tific  principles. 

In  the  third,  or  University  stage  of  education,  the  one-sidedness 
of  a  particular  or  strictly  technological  training  is  rounded  off  by  a 
survey  of  the  relations  and  value  of  each  specialty  to  others,  without 
losing  sight  of  a  specific  individual  purpose.  The  University  is  as 
necessary  a  part  of  public  instruction  as  the  elementary  or  technical 
school,  and  should  be  the  crown  and  complement  of  these.  Below 
this  point  the  States  say  everjr  child  shall  be  furnished  with  the 
means  for  the  rational  development  of  his  physical,  moral,  and  in 
tellectual  powers;  to  this,  instruction  should  be  added  which  will 
enable  the  child  to  apply  those  powers  in  obtaining  a  livelihood; 
while  at  the  gates  of  the  University  the  State  confers  a  privilege, 
and  says  to  the  youth:  You  may  go  up  higher,  and  contend  for  the 
prizes  of  thought  and  activity.  The  University  says:  Here  you  shall 
find  the  natural  sciences  carried  up  into  the  science  of  nature;  that 
the  phenomena  of  society,  of  industry,  of  trade,  of  finance,  of  poli 
tics,  are  subject  to  fixed  laws.  The  University  is  an  organic  ency 
clopedic  representation  of  all  the  sciences,  with  their  connections 
and  relations.  And  this  is  equally  true  of  the  arts,  architecture, 
music,  painting,  the  drama — are  like  the  sciences,  bound  together  in 
a  Universifas  Arcium. 

While  this  is  the  true  conception  of  a  University,  and  should  not 
be  lost  sight  of  in  laying  the  foundations  of  an  institution  for  all  time, 
it  is  not  immediately  practical  or  adapted  to  the  wants  of  young  and 


PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM.  245 

growing  States.  The  reason  of  this  is,  that  the  lower  stages  of  public 
education  are  yet  imperfect  and  unorganized.  To  expect  to  have  a 
great  University  without  a  good  proportion  of  high  schools,  and  be 
fore  we  have  a  single  technical  school,  seems  to  me  preposterous. 
"We  may  have  students  crowding  into  our  University  to  get  what 
other  colleges  give — liberal  literary  or  scientific  education — without 
getting  a  step  nearer  the  ideal  University,  while  numbers  of  the  stu 
dents  of  older  colleges  are  found  among  us  seeking  for  second-rate 
clerkships,  in  threadbare  clothes;  but  when  we  get  the  feeders  to  our 
University  in  running  order,  we  shall  find  its  utmost  usefulness 
realized  in  the  production  of  educated  power  instead  of 

EDUCATED    HELPLESSNESS. 

"  We  thank  you,"  said  the  Troquois  Chief  (in  the  year  1774)  to 
the  Government  of  Virginia,  which  had  offered  to  educate  some  of 
their  young  men;  "  we  have  already  had  experience  of  your  edu 
cation,  and  some  whom  you  have  educated  in  all  your  sciences 
come  back  to  us  bad  runners,  ignorant  of  woodcraft,  unable  to  trap 
a  deer,  snare  a  fish,  to  build  a  wigwam;  we  cannot  accept  your 
offer,  though  we  appreciate  your  good  will,  but  we  will  take  a  few 
of  your  sons  and  make  men  of  them." 

Something  like  this  the  people  have  been  saying  to  the  Universi 
ties  founded  upon  the  munificence  of  the  State  and  nation,  not 
because  they  do  not  appreciate  education,  but  because  they  do. 
They  know  that  it  costs  more  to  hang  a  man,  to  board  and  lodge 
a  man  at  San  Quentin,  than  it  would  to  teach  him  the  duties  and 
responsibilities  of  American  citizenship,  and  how  to  get  an  honest 
living;  that  it  costs  far  more  to  maintain  a  system  of  demagogy  than 
of  pedagogy!  They  know  that  where  five  agricultural  scientists 
could  obtain  employment,  five  thousand  skillful,  intelligent  farmers 
are  needed  to-day  in  our  own  State.  The  friends  of  the  so-called 
higher  education  should  be  willing  to  see  the  University  filling  the 
present  need  of  technical  training  in  agriculture  and  the  arts,  mak 
ing  practical  workers,  as  well  as  thinkers,  of  its  students,  thus  sup 
plying  the  means  of  its  ideal  perfection. 

The  technical  school  in  which  wre  are  most  directly  interested,  is 
that  which  gives  us  teachers.  "Without  the  right  kind  of  teachers, 
no  reform  is  possible.  The  one  business  which  it  should  be  the 
special  concern  of  the  State  to  maintain  in  honor,  which  should 
be  kept  free  from  political  or  sectarian  influences,  which  should  be 
entered  into  with  zeal  and  consecrated  ability,  and  never  as  a  make 
shift — is  education.  The  educator,  whether  of  the  school  or  the 
press,  stands  at  the  point  of  power,  and  holds  the  highest  office  in 
the  social  economy. 

The  work  of  organizing  the  national  education  is  now  claiming 
the  attention  of  scholars  and  patriots.  Such  an  organization,  in  its 
higher  and  lower  stages,  will  be  impartial  in  its  bearings  upon  in 
tellect  and  industry,  impartial  as  to  sex,  making  a  boy's  training 
preparatory  to  a  man's  work,  and  girl's  to  a  woman's,  wife's, 
mother's  work,  and  in  both  will  recognize  the  intrinsic  dignity  of 
self-support. 

The  graduate  of  the  National  School  of  Pedagogy,  or  Normal 


246 


PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE   SCHOOL   SCHOOL. 


School,  will  have  the  same  relation  to  the  Government  that  the 
graduate-  of  West  Point  or  of  the  Naval  Academy  has,  and  thus  step 
by  step  the  hitherto  unrewarded  and  despised  profession  of  teach 
ing  shall  be  exalted  and  ennobled.  Do  I  believe  in  this  good  time 
coming  ?  Most  assuredly  I  do.  The  time  has  already  come  when 
war  is  no  longer  a  necessity,  and  that  nation  is  the  most  civilized 
which  can  most  easily  dispense  with  it.  The  reign  of  words,  too, 
is  almost  over;  dogmas,  religious  or  political,  no  longer  fetter  the 
nations;  thought  is  free  as  air.  Literature  must  take  the  back  seat; 
while  the  arts,  leading  science,  make  the  circuit  of  the  world.  Be 
tween  the  standing  armies  of  soldiers,  which  tell  how  imperfect  still 
is  human  government,  and  the  sitting  armies  of  sophists,  whose 
mission  it  is  to  perpetuate  existing  evils,  another  great  army  is 
being  drilled — the  army  of  labor — in  which  we  shall  find  the  most 
practical  philosophy,  the  broadest  intelligence,  and  the  most  Chris 
tian  patriotism. 

Little  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  Sir  William  Berkeley, 
Governor  of  Virginia,  said:  "Thank  God,  there  are  no  free  schools 
nor  printing  presses  here,  and  I  hope  there  will  be  none  for  an 
hundred  years,  for  learning  has  brought  heresy  and  sects  into  the 
world,  and  printing  has  divulged  these  and  other  libels."  The 
ghost  of  Sir  William  flits  in  a  few  remote  corners  of  our  land,  but 
the  spirit  of  modern  inquiry  forbids  that  it  shall  be  materialized. 
With  conscious  pride,  the  farmers  and  laboring  men  of  America 
are  building  a  commonwealth  whose  spirit  shall  be  peace  on  earth 
and  good  will  to  man;  whose  weapon,  suffrage;  whose  conservatism, 
education;  whose  objects  are  freedom,  order,  and  economy  within 
our  own  boundaries,  and  an  eternal  brotherhood  with  those  who 
are  our  wider  neighbors.  • 


LIBRARY 

1  UNIVERSITY   OF 

CALIFORNIA. 


EBRATA, 


Page  20,  Sec.  8,  read  "approved  May  3,  1852,"  instead  of  "approved  May  3, 
1862.'* 

Page  24,  See.  15,  read  "1855,"  instead  of  "1856." 
Page  25,  Sec.  17,  read  "seventh,"  instead  of  "seventeenth." 

OMISSION. 

In  the  section  of  legislation,  1874,  on  page  65,  no  mention  is  made  of  the  Com 
pulsory  Education  Bill  passed  during  that  year;  but  as  the  law  has  proved  a  dead 
letter,  the  omission  is  of  little  consequence, 


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